Harvard Divinity School

This presentation chronicled the evolution of the collaborative art exhibition, "Ye Shall Inherit the Earth & Faces of the Divine." The exhibition, featuring works of artists from the African Diasporic and Palestinian exilic communities, attempts to gesture towards some commentary about both the universality and specificity of conversations ranging from human rights, human dignity, and artistic production-as-a practice of resistance. Follow the Inherit exhibition on Instagram @inherit_exhibit22. This event took place on March 29, 2022. Learn more: https://rpl.hds.harvard.edu/programs/religion-conflict-peace

What is the paranormal? How can we make sense of out-of-the-ordinary experiences? How can we study the paranormal—anthropologically? In this talk, Dr. Jack Hunter and Dr. Giovanna Parmigiani discussed the anthropology of the paranormal. This event took place on March 23, 2022. Learn more: https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/

In this talk, Vivien Sansour shared excerpts of her upcoming autobiographical book weaving a poetic narration of people, plants, and other food stories from Palestine to South America, taking us on her journey of establishing the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library and the projects that resulted from it. Professor Bahhur explored how stories inform our political and social realities on a global level and how they can be catalysts for a new conversation about indigenous knowledge and spirituality. This event took place on March 22, 2022. Learn more: https://rpl.hds.harvard.edu/programs/religion-conflict-peace

This event featured seven poets from Gaza-Palestine who in May 2021 were working to submit their poems to "Peripheries" while under Israeli attacks. Five of the poets write in Arabic while two, the co-editors of the special folio in 2021, are bilingual poets, writing in Arabic and English. The poets include Mosab Abu Toha, Tayseer Abu Odeh, Nasser Rabah, Waleed Al-Akkad, Hamed Ashour, Ne’ma Hasan, and Mona Al-Mosaddar. This event took place on March 21, 2022. Learn more: https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/

On February 24-25, a convening of Religion and Public Life and the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University brought together a small group of scholars and activists to assess the normative frameworks that shape how U.S. foreign policy thinks about the role of religion in world affairs. This public follow-up event, moderated by Peter Mandaville, George Mason and Georgetown Universities, and Susie Hayward, Religion and Public Life, featured several workshop participants as they shared insights and recommendations generated from the February discussion about how religion can be reimagined in policy and activist responses to meet the challenges of the present day. This event took place on March 4, 2022. Learn more: https://rpl.hds.harvard.edu/

This event is part of the RCPI Fellows' Spring Series, "Disrupting Injustice and Promoting Moral Imagination in Israel/Palestine." Conflict and Peace Fellows at Religion and Public Life (RPL) talk about their projects illuminating transnational solidarities, reimagining Jewish identity, Palestinian steadfastness (Sumoud), and cultivating moral imagination and creative possibilities for a just peace in Israel/Palestine. Salem Al-Qudwa, RCPI Fellow and Architect, in conversation with Sara Roy, Senior Research Scholar at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University. Salem Al-Qudwa showcased his work focusing on community and people with an emphasis on ethics, social injustice, and architecture in conflict zones such as the Gaza Strip. He also introduced his work on gender and in-between spaces exploring barriers, exploitation, and the relationship of widowed women to space and architecture. Co-sponsored by The Middle East Forum at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard. This event took place on March 8, 2022. Learn more: https://rpl.hds.harvard.edu/programs/religion-conflict-peace

“The Writing of Wisdom: Divine Sophia in Russia” is part of the CSWR’s new initiative, “Transcendence and Transformation". In this presentation, Judith Deutsch Kornblatt analyzed ancient icons of Divine Wisdom along with many other influences on the pivotal religious philosopher and poet Vladimir Solovyov and, through him, on his heirs in Russian religious thought in the 20th century. This event took place on March 10, 2022. Learn more: https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/

This conversation is part of a ten-week series of online conversations with poets, writers, public servants, theologians, biologists, scholars, and activists who are engaged in the spiritual reckoning and awakening surrounding climate collapse, sacred land protection, and planetary health. Kim Stanley Robinson’s thriller "The Ministry for the Future" (2020) is science fiction that reads as hard-edged journalism. With short chapters and a myriad of characters, Robinson creates a kaleidoscope of perspectives on a global climate collapse coming in 2025. Bill McKibben writes “In Kim Stanley Robinson’s anti-dystopian novel, climate change is the crisis that finally forces mankind to deal with global inequality.” At heart an optimist, Robinson lays out a possible path to move forward with faith in what we can create together in a post-capitalist world. Respondent: Sarah Dimick, Assistant Professor of English, Harvard University This event took place on November 22, 2021. Sponsored by: Harvard Divinity School, The Constellation Project, The Center for the Study of World Religions, Religion and Public Life at HDS, Theasophie Teas, and the Planetary Health Alliance.

Vladimir Putin's invasion and war on Ukraine is a crisis. It's a crisis that is unfolding before our very eyes across social media and cable and online news, and it's more than just a political crisis, though that's likely what most of us are hearing about. Putin's war is crisis of humanity. It's a crisis of conscience … and it's a crisis with deep religious ties. I'm Jonathan Beasley, and in today's episode of the Harvard Religion Beat, I'm speaking with Sean Eriksen about the religious connection to Putin's war on Ukraine. Sean is a graduate student at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University, specializing in contemporary Russian national identity and regime ideology. Sean is originally from Australia. He holds degrees in law and international relations, and he's lived in Kyiv, Ukraine, and has travelled throughout the former Soviet Union. Full episode transcript: https://hds.harvard.edu/news/2022/03/10/putin-unholy-war

Virtual Voices of Divinity is an ongoing conversation series that showcases the unique impact of HDS alumni in the world. This talk featured Palwasha Kakar, MTS ’04, Interim Director of Religion and Inclusive Societies at US Institute of Peace, Rick Santos, MTS ’92, President and CEO at Church World Service, and Karen Tse, MDiv ’00, Founder and CEO of International Bridges to Justice. This event took place on March 1, 2022. Learn more: https://hds.harvard.edu/alumni-friends