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Karen Sue Smith headshot

The Gift of Giving

November 17, 2023

Karen Sue Smith, MDiv ’84, honors Professors Elisabeth and Francis Schüssler Fiorenza with a financial aid fund in their name to support the next generation of religious studies scholars.... Read more about The Gift of Giving

Book propped up on display

Reckoning with the Role of Religion in the Legacies of Slavery

November 17, 2023

Throughout the 2022–23 academic year, the Religion and Public Life (RPL) program and the Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DIB) engaged with HDS faculty to reckon with the roles of religion in slavery and its painful legacy. This work examined intersections with Harvard’s report on the legacy of slavery—culminating in a series of public conversations held throughout the spring semester.... Read more about Reckoning with the Role of Religion in the Legacies of Slavery

Lori Stevens headshot

Message of Thanks from Lori Stevens

November 17, 2023

Dear friends,

As the cover of this year’s report reminds us, Harvard Divinity School exists for teaching and learning, for students and their future impact on the world, and for the knowledge and insights that faculty generate through their scholarship. The cover also makes me think about the joy of Commencement, as well as the joy of new students arriving each year—the continual passing of the baton. This year, we also feel that joy in regard to the leadership of HDS.... Read more about Message of Thanks from Lori Stevens

Ans Irfan speaking at an HDS event

Ask an Alum: How an HDS Education Intersects with Public Health and Social Justice

November 17, 2023

As a trained physician, professor, and a social justice scholar, Ans Irfan (he/him, they/them) holds a commitment to health equity and religious literacy that is both personal and professional: “If my dignity—and the safety of the LGBTQIA+ community—is up for reelection every two to four years, depending on someone’s religious views, how is public health not talking more about the role religion plays in policymaking?” In this Q&A, Irfan defines the importance of centering those who have been marginalized and the urgent need for more religious literacy in policymaking.... Read more about Ask an Alum: How an HDS Education Intersects with Public Health and Social Justice

Willie Francois smiling at the camera

Ask an Alum: How an HDS Education Advances Liberation and Equality

November 17, 2023

Willie Dwayne Francois III is a minister, leader, and scholar dedicated to liberation. He is the senior pastor of Mount Zion Baptist Church of Pleasantville, New Jersey; president of the Black Church Center for Justice and Equality; and associate professor of liberation theology at New York Theological Seminary. “Through my advocacy work, I’ve learned that the policies that liberate the most vulnerable benefit all of us,” he observes. The author of Silencing White Noise spoke with HDS about religion, racial justice, and the power of progressive faith communities.... Read more about Ask an Alum: How an HDS Education Advances Liberation and Equality

Eloise Blondiau headshot

Ask an Alum: How an HDS Education Informs Religious Literacy in the Media

November 17, 2023

Eloise Blondiau, MTS ’16, found her way to a career in journalism by way of her interests in both religion and lifelong learning. As a producer for the Peabody Award–winning show On the Media at New York Public Radio, Blondiau helps create stories—informed by religious literacy—to help listeners better understand the media. We sat down with Blondiau to learn more about how her HDS education informs her work.... Read more about Ask an Alum: How an HDS Education Informs Religious Literacy in the Media

Navy headshot of Zachary Zumwalt

HDS Alum Centers Religion in Context through Navy Chaplaincy

November 8, 2023

Zachary Zumwalt, MRPL ’23, is an active-duty Navy chaplain (20 years) who has served in Korea, Japan, and around the United States. As a member of the second MRPL cohort, he explored religious literacy in the context of the U.S. Navy Chaplain Corps—specifically how it could inform emerging work in conflict prevention within the Indo-Pacific region.... Read more about HDS Alum Centers Religion in Context through Navy Chaplaincy

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Video: "Rivermouth: A Chronicle of Language, Faith and Migration"—A Conversation with Alejandra Oliva

October 27, 2023

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."

... Read more about Video: "Rivermouth: A Chronicle of Language, Faith and Migration"—A Conversation with Alejandra Oliva

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