This discussion followed the screening of Oscar-winning filmmakers Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin's extraordinary film "Wild Life". The film is a story of love, wildness, and restoration in Chile and Argentina, recording the life of Kris Tompkins through an epic decades-spanning love story as wild as the landscapes she dedicated her life to protecting. Special guests in this conversation include Kris Tompkins and Chai Vasarhelyi, with guest curator Geralyn Dreyfous and HDS writer-in-residence Te...
Dec 04, 2023•1 hr 6 min
In this project, Elena Guzman explored the way Black women and non-binary people through the Caribbean and its diaspora use spiritual and ritual performance within African Diasporic Religions, including Santeria, Haitian Vodou, Puerto Rican Espiritismo, 21 Divisions, and Obeah, as a means to forge interstitial geographies of the African diaspora. Elena Guzman is an Afro-Boricua filmmaker, educator, and scholar raised in the Bronx with deep roots in the LES. She received her PhD in Anthropology f...
Nov 15, 2023•1 hr 20 min
Full Title: From Ms. Marvel to the Smithsonian: A Conversation on Teaching Religious Literacy through Arts and Popular Culture with Dr. Hussein Rashid In this conversation, Dr. Rashid discussed his work and its uses in the classroom, with a particular focus on the Children’s Museum of Manhattan exhibit "America to Zanzibar: Muslim Cultures Near and Far?" Dr. Hussein Rashid is the new Assistant Dean for Religion and Public Life and brought to RPL with a wealth of experience as an educator in publ...
Nov 15, 2023•1 hr 3 min
Full title: Psychedelics and the Future of Religion: Panel discussion on Race and Exoticism in Global Psychedelic Spirituality with Professors Lucia and Saldanha Drawing from their respective perspectives and scholarship, Professors Lucia and Saldanha led a conversation around the racialized politics/ethics of the hallucinogenic experience (or discourses thereof) within the context of modern spiritualities. Amanda Lucia is Professor of Religious Studies at the University of California-Riverside....
Nov 03, 2023•1 hr 30 min
Major religious traditions call on their adherents to respond to the causes of suffering, those who suffer, and the prevention of suffering. The ways we respond and serve can take many forms including activism and holding political office. How does spiritual practice support the difficult work of speaking truth to power as well as being in positions of power without losing focus on the relief of suffering? In this book talk and conversation, Lori E. Lightfoot, Esq., 56th Mayor of Chicago, and Pa...
Nov 03, 2023•1 hr 23 min
As part of the Transcendence and Transformation initiative, the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard Divinity School is proud to announce its first ever podcast. Pop Apocalypse explores the mystical and the mythic, the paranormal and the psychedelic in popular culture. The show features interviews with musicians, artists, and writers about how their spiritual experiences and practices inform their work. We also explore the mythological universes in film and fiction with show-runner...
Oct 30, 2023•1 hr 29 min
This special event, jointly organized by CSWR and HDS Buddhist Ministry Initiative, aimed to commemorate Dhamma Chakra Day and delved into the enduring legacy of Dr. Ambedkar. His peaceful, egalitarian, grassroots movement has left an indelible mark on Indian society and politics. The event showcased three speakers whose research has deepened our understanding of Buddhism's impact and potential in fostering equality and social justice in India. Speaker List: - Dr Ambedkar: Restructuring of India...
Oct 27, 2023•1 hr 37 min
Through her channel, "Angela's Symposium," Dr. Puca pioneered an innovative approach to academia by utilizing popular social media platforms, aiming to bridge the gap between esoteric academic scholarship and the wider community. This talk explored the challenges and opportunities of digital scholarship, discuss the implications of bridging two worlds for academia at large, and present future avenues for scholarly engagement in the rapidly evolving landscape of digital media. Angela Puca’s resea...
Oct 27, 2023•1 hr
This lecture was given by Jessica J. Fowler (University of Montana Western), who's an HDS Visiting Associate Professor of Women’s Studies and Catholicism on her work, "Illuminating the Empire: The Spanish Inquisition and the Spread of Global Heresy." This event took place October 11, 2023. For more information: https://hds.harvard.edu/ View transcript: https://hds.harvard.edu/news/video/2023/10/11/illuminating-empire-spanish-inquisition-and-spread-global-heresy
Oct 27, 2023•1 hr 12 min
Hear from Alejandra Oliva, MTS '19, Mexican-American writer, translator, and immigration-justice activist, speak about her work and her recent book, "Rivermouth: A Chronicle of Language, Faith and Migration." Héctor Tobar, author of Translation Nation, described it as "a supremely intelligent account of a translator's journey into the Kafkaesque machinery of U.S. immigration and asylum policy." This event took place October 12, 2023. For more information: https://hds.harvard.edu/ Transcript: htt...
Oct 20, 2023•46 min
Full Title: Third Annual T&T Presentations Launch: Five New Researchers Present on their Scholarly Work At the beginning of the last three academic years, the HDS Center for the Study of World Religion's Transcendence and Transformation scholars come together to hear about the research of the year's new scholars. We are thrilled to introduce and share the recording from this gathering, featuring presentations from Adam Bremer-McCollum, Nicholas Low, Fabien Muller, Russ Powell, and Tara Smith...
Oct 13, 2023•1 hr 25 min
Convened by Ahmad Greene-Hayes, Assistant Professor of African American Religious Studies at HDS, this colloquium bridged connections between the critical study of Black religion and studies of race, gender, and sexuality in critical theory and philosophy, among many other fields. The aim of this gathering was to support research and sustained dialogue about the ways in which religion and race are co-constitutive and function as governing categories of analysis at the helm of both religious stud...
Oct 13, 2023•2 hr 26 min
Convened by Ahmad Greene-Hayes, Assistant Professor of African American Religious Studies at HDS, this colloquium bridged connections between the critical study of Black religion and studies of race, gender, and sexuality in critical theory and philosophy, among many other fields. The aim of this gathering was to support research and sustained dialogue about the ways in which religion and race are co-constitutive and function as governing categories of analysis at the helm of both religious stud...
Oct 13, 2023•1 hr 46 min
Full title: CSWR List Lecture with Adam Afterman: Kabbalistic Neoplatonism: Divine Emanation and Mystical Integration Dr. Afterman addressed the profound impact of Neoplatonism on Kabbalah, the medieval trend of Jewish mysticism. While its impact on the development of a new form of mystical religiosity of communion and unio mystica is relatively known, he will focus on another critical development: Afterman argued that through an interpretation of Neoplatonic emanation in terms of substantive in...
Oct 13, 2023•1 hr 15 min
This panel was presented by the Women’s Studies in Religion Program (WSRP), which brings six scholars in gender from around the country each year to enrich the experience of our students. They shared their thoughts on the ethical responsibility of scholars to be engaged in the study of gender. The scholars who presented were Jessica J. Fowler, Elena Herminia Guzman, Samira K. Mehta, S. Zahara Moballegh, Z. Fareen Parvez, and Ashley M. Purpura. This event took place on August 30, 2023. Find more ...
Oct 13, 2023•55 min
Amid ongoing ecological collapse, calls for more intense activists are on the rise. What is the role of civil disruption in addressing ecological catastrophe? How can spiritual practice inform direct action? How does taking such actions deeply impact those who dare to act? In this talk, Tim Ream explores these questions as he reflects on decades of direct action and Zen practice. Tim is an organizer, campaigner, writer, film maker, and environmental attorney. He has alternated between outlaw, la...
Oct 02, 2023•1 hr 5 min
This webinar is the first in a series offered by the Buddhist Ministry Initiative at Harvard Divinity School. It featured a panel discussion of contributors to part I of Refuge in the Storm: Buddhist Voices in Crisis Care, edited by Nathan Jishin Michon. The panel included Dr. Victor Gabriel, Chun Fai (Jeffrey) Ng, and Dr. g (Claudelle R. Glasgow, Psy.D., SEP, and will be co-moderated by Rev. Dr. Nathan Jishin Michon and Rev. Dr. Monica Sanford. This event took place on September 20, 2023. Find ...
Sep 29, 2023•1 hr 30 min
Full Title: The Ziyārat of Imām al-Ḥusayn as Liturgical Text in Early Shī‘ī Ḥadīth and its Role in the Promulgation of Shī‘ī Piety The intention of this lecture and study is to investigate the intricacies and substance of a genre of devotional literature and liturgical practice in Twelver Shī‘īsm, namely the Ziyārat (visitational eulogy) of Imam al-Ḥusayn. In doing so, this talk presented a historical and close philological-thematic study of this ziyāra, a text that is consistently found through...
Sep 22, 2023•1 hr 13 min
As part of the Transcendence and Transformation initiative, the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard Divinity School is proud to announce its first ever podcast. Pop Apocalypse explores the mystical and the mythic, the paranormal and the psychedelic in popular culture. The show features interviews with musicians, artists, and writers about how their spiritual experiences and practices inform their work. We also explore the mythological universes in film and fiction with show-runner...
Sep 18, 2023•1 hr 32 min
The entire HDS and Harvard community, friends, alumni, and guests were invited to the opening of HDS's 208th year. The 2023 Convocation featured remarks by Harvard President Claudine Gay, Interim Dean David F. Holland, and David N. Hempton. This event took place on September 7, 2023. Read transcript here: https://hds.harvard.edu/news/9/7/2023/convocation-2023 Find more information for this event here: https://hds.harvard.edu/news-events/convocation-2023
Sep 14, 2023•35 min
The Constellation Project is pleased to announce the publication of our second “Prayer Book,” by HDS student Morgan Curtis. “The Decolonial Dames of America,” is a landmark essay about the importance of ancestral repair work needed to be taken by the white descendants of oppressors to cultivate the soil of healing. This event featured a reading by Morgan Curtis in conversation with Melissa Bartholomew, associate dean for diversity, inclusion, and belonging. This event took place April 19, 2023. ...
Sep 06, 2023•1 hr 25 min
As part of the Transcendence and Transformation initiative, the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard Divinity School is proud to announce its first ever podcast. Pop Apocalypse explores the mystical and the mythic, the paranormal and the psychedelic in popular culture. The show features interviews with musicians, artists, and writers about how their spiritual experiences and practices inform their work. We also explore the mythological universes in film and fiction with show-runner...
Aug 07, 2023•1 hr 23 min
As part of the Transcendence and Transformation initiative, the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard Divinity School is proud to announce its first ever podcast. Pop Apocalypse explores the mystical and the mythic, the paranormal and the psychedelic in popular culture. The show features interviews with musicians, artists, and writers about how their spiritual experiences and practices inform their work. We also explore the mythological universes in film and fiction with show-runner...
Aug 07, 2023•1 hr 14 min
Audre Lorde is one of the most significant and influential Black feminist writer/activists of the twentieth century. In this talk at Harvard Divinity School, Dr. Beverly Guy-Sheftall, founding director of the Women’s Research and Resource Center at Spelman College, examined Lorde’s prolific writings in the context of contemporary Black feminist ethics, discourse, and activism. As the nation faces increasing political resistance to social justice reform in the aftermath of the Black Lives Matter ...
Jul 26, 2023•1 hr 23 min
The Center for the Study of World Religions hosted a talk by Raashid Goyal, who researches the history, languages, and literature of the early Islamic and pre-Islamic Near East, with a particular interest in the development of legal and political ideas in the early centuries of Islam. This event took place July 20, 2023. A full transcript is forthcoming. Learn more: https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/
Jul 26, 2023•1 hr 23 min
The principle factor determining what we experience is our mind. During an event hosted by the Buddhist Ministry Initiative at Harvard Divinity School, Khentrul Rinpoche spoke about how to harness the potential of mind to transform unwanted conditions into positive circumstances. When we stop our hate of suffering, we learn how to befriend adversity and find strength in the midst of all that we experience. Not only does this transform our own lives, but it gives us the capacity to better serve o...
Jun 15, 2023•1 hr 29 min
A new religious philosophy aims to help humans understand again that they are part of and utterly dependent on the living Earth. This is a special audio version of "Following the Gaian Way," a feature written by Erik Assadourian and appearing in the Spring/Summer 2023 issue of Harvard Divinity Bulletin. Read by Michael Dowd. Read or follow along on the Harvard Divinity Bulletin website: bulletin.hds.harvard.edu/following-the-gaian-way/
Jun 15, 2023•22 min
"I see my craft as a poet as being first and foremost grief work. To re-imagine and commit ourselves to a more peaceful and just world, we must first grieve the harms that have necessitated this pursuit." Religion and Public Life at Harvard Divinity School hosted a poetry reading with Suzannah Omonuk, MDiv '23. This event took place April 19, 2023. A full transcript can be found online: https://rpl.hds.harvard.edu/news/2023/07/20/video-garden-we-sat-weeping-poetry-reading-suzannah-omonuk Learn m...
Jun 13, 2023•48 min
The Religion and Public Life program at Harvard Divinity School hosted a talk with Larry L. Rasmussen, Christian Environmental Ethicist, and Reinhold Niebuhr Professor Emeritus of Social Ethics, Union Theological Seminary. He was in conversation with: Diane L. Moore, Faculty Director of Religion and Public Life; Lecturer on Religion, Conflict, and Peace; and Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of World Religions; Terry Tempest Williams, author, environmental activist, HDS Writer-in-Residen...
Jun 13, 2023•1 hr 24 min
Each spring, the Office of Ministry Studies organizes the Billings Preaching Prize Finals, an annual preaching competition open to second- and third-year MDiv students. Congratulations to MDiv Sharon Christner, the 2023 Billings Preaching Prize Competition winner, and to finalists James Lewis and Stephanie Hollenberg for their incredible talents. The finals were held during Noon Service on April 19 in Williams Chapel. The event also featured a reading from Nicole Marie, the Massachusetts Bible S...
Jun 13, 2023•42 min
