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HarvardX: HDS2825x Religion, Conflict and Peace

FACULTY

Diane Moore

Diane L. Moore is the founding director of the Religious Literacy Project, a senior fellow at the Center for the Study of World Religions, and a Faculty Affiliate of the Middle East Initiative. She focuses her research on enhancing the public understanding of religion through education from the lens of critical theory. She is currently serving as the Principal Investigator for both the Religion, Conflict, and Peace Initiative in partnership with the Kennedy School of Government and the Religious Literacy and the Professions Symposium Series. She recently completed the Religious Literacy and Humanitarian Action Research Project in partnership with Oxfam, which was funded by the Henry Luce Foundation. The report entitled "Local Humanitarian Leadership and Religious Literacy" can be read online. She also served on a task force at the US State Department in the Office of Religion and Global Affairs in the Obama Administration to enhance training about religion for Foreign Service officers and other State Department personnel.

PROJECT TEAM

ZACHARY DAVIS

Zachary Davis works at HarvardX where he focuses on building open online courses in the humanities. Previously at the metaLAB (at) Harvard and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Zachary is a graduate of Brigham Young University, where he majored in International Relations and Philosophy.

MARY ANN BLACKMUR

Mary Ann Blackmur studies International Relations & Government at Harvard Extension School with a particular interest in gender roles in religions and UN Resolution 1325 which pertains to Women, Peace & Security, She also works full time at a large non-profit. When not studying or working She enjoys sailing, hiking , gardening and traveling with her husband and two grown sons. Her family also includes Ilsa the Newfoundland, Logan the golden retriever and six hens. She enjoys meeting new people and learning about their culture and traditions. 

LUCÍA VIVAVICENCIO

Lucía is a second-year Master of Theological Studies (MTS) student with a concentration in Religion, Ethics and Politics at Harvard Divinity School (HDS). Lucía was born in Ecuador and received a B.A. in Multimedia Journalism and a B.A. International Relations from Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ). Before attending HDS she worked in Ecuador as a journalist, editor and academic researcher. As well, as project manager for Quito’s first innovation lab. Lucía is passionate about fostering inclusive societies, cultural and structural peace, social entrepreneurship, and how academia and civil society can inform each other. 

ANNA MUDD

Anna is the Program Coordinator for the Religious Literacy Project at Harvard and the Head TA for our Hx course. She received her B.A. in Religion from Haverford College and earned a Master of Theological Studies degree from Harvard Divinity School. Anna has taught 5th–8th-grade social studies and comparative religion in Dorchester, MA, and completed her student teaching in 8th-grade social studies in Arlington, MA, while at Harvard. For four years, she served as the Curriculum Coordinator at Harvard's Center for Middle Eastern Studies. Anna currently develops digital curricular projects for the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University. She is also a graphic artist.

SAKIKO ISOMICHO

Sakiko Isomichi studies Islam, waste management and human conversations. She is a trained piano technician and certified organic farm hand. 

STEVEN CUNNINGHAM

Dr. Steven Clark Cunningham is a graduate student at Harvard Extension School, just finishing his certificate in religious studies, and working towards a Masters Degree in World Religions. He is also a practicing surgeon, and the author or two children's books, "Dinosaur Name Poems," which won the 2009 Moonbeam Award, and "Poemenclature: Poems About Your Body," which is being just now being released.

SADAF RAUF SHIER

Sadaf Rauf Shier is a Sufi Muslim who came to the United States from Pakistan in order to pursue a doctoral degree in education. Currently, she is studying Religion from Harvard Extension School. Her areas of interests are language teaching, immigrant and refugee education, as well as role of religion in peacebuilding. She is very passionate about interfaith and charity work. She speaks Urdu, Punjabi, and English Languages.

VICKI LEPICK

Vicki Lepick is a Religious Educator from Honolulu, Hawaii. She is a Fuller Seminary Graduate, and now pursuing a certificate in Religious Education from Harvard Extension School. Vicki and her husband live a typical Hawaiian lifestyle; kayaking, running in the local races and sharing aloha with their friends.

ERIC STEPHEN

Eric Stephen is a graduate student at Harvard Divinity School, studying toward a Masters of Theological Studies degree in Religion, Ethics, and Politics. His primary research interests surround the politics and theory of the First Amendment, with a particular emphasis on examining the ways in which contemporary systems of theology and social ethics inform religious freedom discourse in the United States. Prior to HDS, Eric received his BA from Wesleyan University in Religious Studies and Psychology, as well as an MA there in Psychology, where he helped lead a research team in analyzing data on indigenous religious revival movements in post-Soviet Russia.

BETANIA RODRIGUEZ ALLO

Betania is a Master of Liberal Arts candidate with a concentration in International Relations at Harvard Extension School. She is a Lawyer from Universidad de Moron in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she was born and raised. Betania is passionate about international politics and how world religions influence the international arena. She loves traveling and experiencing new cultures. After living three years in New York City, she currently works at the Terrorism Prevention Branch, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Vienna, Austria. Betania is also a World Youth Academy Alumni.

BRIDGET POWER

Bridget Power is a graduate student at Harvard Divinity School where she studies religion, spirituality, and storytelling.

MELI SOLOMON

Méli Solomon is a Master of Jewish Liberal Studies candidate at Hebrew College. The program’s focus on Global Interreligious Studies perfectly matches her interests. Her personal engagement with Judaism has been a gradual development, starting in the 1980s. More publicly, she has completed her BA in Fine Art at Oberlin College (1984) and an MBA at Northeastern University (1997). The degrees have been matched with significant management and entrepreneurial experience working in the arts and business. In 2009 she moved to Berlin Germany in order to immerse herself in another culture. Besides work as a trainer and editor, she volunteered at the conservative egalitarian synagogue and contributed to Jewish and interfaith activities. She has been in synagogue leadership positions in all synagogues she hasjoined. To explore the observance of those following an Abrahamic faith, she has been conducting the ‘Talking with God’ project since 2014.  

ROLAND SHAPLEY

Roland is currently pursuing a Graduate Certificate in Religious Studies and Education at Harvard Extension School (HES).  Roland was born in St. Louis, MO and received a Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) from Christian Brothers University and a B.S. in Marketing from Louisiana State University.  He is the President & Director of Strategic Development for Kustom Kinetics and Wound Care Consultants.org. 

RAFAEL BENEDETTI

Rafael is a video editor at HarvardX. Prior to joining the HarvardX team Rafael Benedetti produced and edited television programing and documentaries for over 20 years. He is passionate about the future of MOOCs and is furthering his craft helping to develop high quality educational videos and other forms of digital media in support of online higher education for everyone, everywhere.

SHILPA IDNANI

Shilpa Idnani is the Instructional Development Assistant at HarvardX. She holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Wellesley College, where she specialized in creating interactive computer ecosystem and hydrogeological models. Recently, she has designed, created, and collected materials for wide variety of HarvardX courses including Innovating in Healthcare, The History of the Book, and ContractsX. She will be monitoring the discussion boards for technical issues with the platform and course. verywhere.

CARLEIGH ANN BERIONT

Carleigh is currently pursuing her doctorate in Religion and Politics at
Harvard University. She received her Master of Theological Studies in
Religion, Ethics, and Politics from Harvard Divinity School in 2015.

SASHA LIPTON GALBRAITH

Sasha Lipton Galbraith is a Joint-Master’s Candidate at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and Harvard Divinity School. At Fletcher, she focuses on program design, monitoring and evaluation in the humanitarian sector, and at Harvard Divinity School she is exploring the complex interplay between religions, conflicts and peacebuilding. She has worked with various NGOs and international organizations around the world supporting educational and humanitarian programming.

EUNICE MCMURRAY

Eunice McMurray holds degrees in Biology (B.A.) and Medical Sciences (M.M.Sc.) from Harvard University. She has worked for several years as a faith-based community organizer in the Boston area, and is particularly interested in the intersection of race and religion.

LIYA RECHTMAN

Liya Rechtman is a concurrent degree candidate at Harvard Divinity School concentrating in Religion, Politics, and Ethics and Tufts Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy concentrating in U.S. Diplomacy and Energy/Environment. Previously she was a Dorot Fellow in Jerusalem and a faith-based environmental lobbyist in Washington D.C.

WILLIAM GREEN

William is an M.T.S student at Harvard Divinity School with a concentration in Religion and the Social Sciences. Previously, he earned an M.Phil. from the University of Pennsylvania with a concentration in Anthropology & Sociology, and an M.A. in Intercultural Studies and an M.A. in Theology from Grace Theological Seminary. Vocationally, he spent eight years as an educator in Asia (South Korea and Cambodia) and has also served in a number of ministerial roles. His research interests are in the sociology and anthropology of religion, ethnography, culture, world religions, religious literacy, world Christianity, and non-Western transnational and diasporic expressions of Christianity in the West.

ARIETTE ESCOBAR

Ariette Escobar has worked in education, investment banking, college admissions, and is a multilingual private translator and tutor with differing levels of proficiency in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Italian, and French. She double majored and received her BA from College of the Holy Cross in French, Sociology/Anthropology with a concentration in International Studies and received an MBA from the University of Scranton. She has completed coursework towards a certificate in International Security from Harvard’s Extension School and is working towards her Masters in International Relations. She worked at East Stroudsburg University as a Professional Tutor for six years before moving to Brazil on a global assignment. She enjoys traveling and learning about different cultures and has been able to travel to over 40 different countries. She is involved in her town’s Planning Commission Board and the school parent advisory board. She is a native New Yorker currently residing in Pennsylvania with her husband and three children.

SEHRISH AMJAD

Sehrish Amjad holds an Honors BSocSc in Conflict Studies and Human Rights from the University of Ottawa. Following her graduation, she has worked extensively with non- profit organizations in Canada to advance human rights and civil liberties for diverse communities. In her capacity as a Human Rights Officer with a national, non-profit organization in Canada, Sehrish has presented to school boards on issues of equity and inclusion. She has also participated in several international conferences pertaining to tolerance and diversity. Sehrish is currently pursuing a Masters in International Relations at Harvard University Extension School.

KIERSTEN NIELSEN

Kiersten Nielsen is a graduate of Brigham Young University, where she majored in American studies and humanities, as well as studying graphic design. She worked for several years as an academic advisor, and is excited to now be part of the team for this course.