The Pluralism Project at Harvard University

Senior Staff

Professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Studies, Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Director, The Pluralism Project

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Bio

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Articles and Talks

Curriculum Vitæ [PDF]

Research Director

Elinor began working for the Pluralism Project as a student field researcher in San Francisco; she was a section editor for the CD-ROM On Common Ground: World Religions in America and co-editor of World Religions in Boston: A Guide to Communities and Resources. She has been involved in "Religious Diversity News" since its inception in 1997. She developed the Women’s Networks Initiative, and was a content advisor for Acting on Faith: Women’s New Religious Activism in America. Elinor co-produced and co-directed the documentary film Fremont, U.S.A., together with Rachel Antell. She completed her B.A. in anthropology and international studies, with a core in religious studies, from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota (1988); she earned her Master of Theological Studies degree from the Harvard Divinity School (1996). Elinor currently leads the case study initiative.

Assistant Director

Whittney began her work with the Pluralism Project as a research associate for our Religious Diversity News in 2010 and continues to work on projects related to the interfaith infrastructure of the United States. In addition to studying religious pluralism academically, she has worked with several interfaith organizations including the Interfaith Youth Core, the Chautauqua Institution, and the Harvard Interfaith Collaborative. As assistant director, Whittney manages student research, manages our summer research programs, provides administrative and financial oversight, and participates in a number of local and national initiatives, conferences, and events on behalf of the Project. Whittney received her BA in comparative religion and American studies with a minor in political science from Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) in 2008. She earned a Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School (2011) where she completed a thesis project exploring the possibilities of integrating interfaith engagement and ecological awareness in response to the growing sense of "placelessness" in modern life.

Webmaster

Ryan received his Ph.D. in the Study of Religion from Harvard University in 2010 and his A.B. in Classics & Sanskrit and Religious Studies from Brown University in 2001. He has served as a web assistant and web developer for the Pluralism Project since 2006, and as a Postdoctoral Fellow in 2010–2011. In addition to updating the content for the Pluralism Project website, he has undertaken a major rewrite of the site’s underlying architecture, and developed the infrastructure for the new edition of World Religions in Greater Boston.

Summer Interns

Afif is an undergraduate student studying behavioral neuroscience, mathematics, and sociology at Northeastern University. A youth leader in the Boston Muslim community, he has served on the Muslim American Society College Committee organizing relevant, yet innovative ways to enrich the faith experiences of Muslim college students in Boston and on the Board of Directors for the Muslim Athletic League, an interfaith initiative to unite youth through sport and ethics. He is currently the president of the Islamic Society of Northeastern University and a strong advocate for on-campus interfaith dialogue as a member of the Northeastern University Interfaith Council. While currently a research assistant in the Interdisciplinary Affective Science Lab studying empathic accuracy and emotional granularity, Afif hopes to study more about the neuropsychological and cognitive underpinnings of faith, spirituality, and morality.

Huda Alawa is a junior at Mount Holyoke College, where she is majoring in Anthropology and minoring in Religion and Psychology. She is very passionate about understanding the extent to which religion influences the identity of American youth (specifically Muslim youth), as well as how much of an impact culture has in shaping religion. In the past, Huda has conducted research on the understanding of hijab and how hijab influences the self-definition of American-born Muslim college students. When not in academic conversation with others, Huda can be found photographing nature and people. This summer, Huda will be conducting research for the Pluralism Project in Western Massachusetts.

Laila Alawa is a graduate of Wellesley College where she received her bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in education studies and currently works as a psychology research associate at Princeton University. During her time at Wellesley, she conducted and presented on a breakthrough social psychology study examining the gendered stereotypical perceptions of science careers. Through her current position, she is conducting a study on Muslim American perceptions of belonging and community within the greater American diaspora. She plans to pursue a master’s degree in public policy. Alawa is currently the fundraising chair and social media advisor of MSA National, as well as the head of the alumni committee for the Muslim Public Affairs Council Young Leaders. In her free time, she designs, creates and sells naturally inspired jewelry. Laila will be conducting research for the Pluralism Project in New York City.

Erin completed her undergraduate studies at Creighton University in 2012 and is currently a graduate student in the Ohio State University’s MA/PhD program in English. She specializes in Rhetoric, Composition, and Literacy, with a minor in Folklore. Her research areas lie at the intersections between ethnography, literacy (particularly concerning vernacular religious beliefs and practices), and multimodal composition (especially graphic narrative). She is curious to learn about how different faith communities engage with the visual design of their worship space. Last summer Erin was a teaching assistant with the Making Invisible Histories Visible Program in Omaha, Nebraska, a two-week history camp in which students about to enter high school research the history of Omaha’s African-American community. This summer she will be conducting research for the Pluralism Project in Columbus, Ohio.

Caitlin Casey is a member of the College Class of 2016 at Georgetown University. She plans to major in Philosophy and English with a potential minor in Theology or Art History. During the academic year, Caitlin is involved with Prison Outreach, a program through the Center for Social Justice at Georgetown that offers GED Tutoring to inmates at the Arlington County Jail. Caitlin is a tutor for Georgetown’s Writing Center and frequently travels with the club tennis team to tournaments throughout the country. Caitlin’s interest in pluralism stems from her fascination with Buddhist and Hindu religious traditions and artwork. She actively pursues her interest in Southeast Asia by participating in BUMS, Georgetown’s Buddhist meditation group, and is planning to attend a Buddhist retreat in upstate New York at the beginning of the summer. Caitlin will be conducting research for the Pluralism Project this summer in Nashville, Tennessee.

Alanna Copenhaver is a Master of Divinity candidate at Yale Divinity School and on the ordination track with the United Church of Christ (UCC). Her academic interests include multifaith dialogue, conflict transformation, and ethics. Prior to attending divinity school, Alanna worked in Washington, D.C. She interned at Search for Common Ground, an international conflict resolution non-profit, where she helped to organize monthly educational forums for policymakers and experts in the field. She also was the Development Manager for the School for Ethics and Global Leadership, a residential program for high school juniors. Alanna graduated from Haverford College and majored in Political Science with a concentration in Peace and Conflict Studies.

Amrita Dani is a senior at Harvard College (graduating in May 2013). She is concentrating in Literature, with a language citation in Arabic. During the academic year, Amrita is involved with the Phillips Brooks House Association program, BRYE, through which she volunteers as an ESL enrichment teacher in Dorchester for children of recent immigrants, as well as an on-campus peer counseling group focusing on issues of gender, identity, and relationships. She also sings with the Harvard Radcliffe Collegium Musicum, a mixed chamber choir that performs master works and a cappella repertoire on campus. After graduation, Amrita will be pursuing a masters in education policy at the University of Cambridge, looking particularly at how arts education can be used to engage with difference in the classroom. This summer Amrita will be conducting research for the Pluralism Project in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Jordan Denari recently graduated from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, where she studied Muslim-Christian relations and served as the president of the Interfaith Student Council. Having studied abroad in the country that bears her name, she will return to Amman, Jordan in the fall on a Fulbright research grant. Her research interests include the media’s impact on Americans’ perceptions of Islam; the ability of personal interaction and dialogue to break down commonly held stereotypes; and the way in which exposure to religious diversity strengthens the religious identities of American young people. During the summer of 2013, Jordan will be working as a research intern, conducting research for the Pluralism Project in Washington, D.C.

Sana is an incoming sophomore at the University of Maryland, Honors College. She is majoring in government and political science, with an interest in human rights. She graduated from an Islamic high school based in Maryland. During the academic year, Sana contributes to various campus newsletters, and is a member of the Jewish-Muslim Alliance. She also spent a summer in India teaching at a literacy center for underprivileged girls. This summer Sana will be conducting research for the Pluralism Project in Metro-Washington, D.C.

Alex is a graduate student in the Department of Religious Studies at Florida International University (FIU) in Miami. Of Cuban heritage, Alex was raised and initiated in the diverse and connected Afro-Cuban religious traditions, holding several titles as ritual specialist and advisor. Having worked both in the private sector and a decorated Veteran of the United States Navy, he is now pursuing utilizing these experiences and heritages to carve out an academic niche with regard to the theoretical understanding and advancement of Afro-diasporic religious practices. He is currently pioneering a working group that seeks to engage FIU’s faculty and graduate students in an interdisciplinary focus on religion in Latin America, a specialism that will offer unique and necessary data on an under-represented region. This summer Alex will be conducting research for the Pluralism Project in Miami, Florida.

Kayla Jackson is a rising senior Religion major and French minor at Carleton College in Northfield, MN. Her academic focus lies in the intersection of Islam, politics, and development, on a local and international scale. Kayla is also interested in mystical poetry and art as expressions of religious experiences. In the winter of 2012, Kayla spent three months studying abroad in Mali, where she pursued research on French language, Islam, women, health, and modernity, and became interested in real-world applications of cultural research. During the summer of 2012, Kayla worked at a community center in Brooklyn, NY, the Arab-American Association of New York, where she advocated for immigration reform and youth education. This upcoming academic year, Kayla plans to pursue a senior thesis on Islam and violence, combining her interests in politics and mystical poetry perhaps through a research project on Islamic jihadi art.

Sampada is an international relations major senior at the University of Mississippi specializing in East Asia and the Middle East. She is part of the Croft Institute, an interdisciplinary program where she studies global politics, history, languages, religion, and international relations. Sampada has founded and supervises the Emerging Leaders program, a sophomore year enrichment program providing leadership skills, faculty connections, diversity workshops, and increased academic performances. She also works with the International Student Organization and Pride Network, an equal rights group, to promote pluralism on her campus. Currently studying Intensive Arabic and Japanese, she hopes to eventually master the two and work in the Foreign Service. This summer Sampada will be conducting research for the Pluralism Project in Jackson, Mississippi.

Sarah is a Master of Theological studies candidate at Harvard Divinity School, specializing in Islamic Studies, and women, gender, sexuality in religion. Her main areas of academic studies are interfaith dialogue, religious pluralism, religious tolerance, and ethics. She obtained a double BA from George Mason University in English and Religious Studies. During her senior year at GMU, she presented research at the George Mason University Research Symposium on spiritually egalitarian interpretations of Eve and Adam. In the future, she hopes to obtain a PhD in religious pluralism and master both Arabic and Hebrew. This summer Sehrish will be conducting research for the Pluralism Project in Washington, D.C.

Dandan Liu graduated from Rice University with a BA in English Literature in 2013. During her senior year, she founded Rice’s first Interfaith Week which aimed to spread awareness about the diversity of worldviews on campus. This included organizing twenty-seven interfaith events which highlighted doubt as much as belief, differences as much as similarities. Afterwards, she helped establish the Boniuk Council, a cohort of eight students who will lead future interfaith programming at Rice. Before entering graduate school to study cultural anthropology and comparative religion, she will take a gap year to live in monasteries and spiritual communities of different religions and cultures. This summer Dandan will be conducting research for the Pluralism Project in Houston, Texas.

Vanessa Navarro is a recent graduate from Florida State University’s Ethnomusicology Master’s program in Tallahassee. Before studying at FSU, she received her B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Florida in Gainesville. Vanessa’s thesis work focused on the function of music in orisha worshipping traditions, specifically on the use of music to facilitate spirit possession. She worked with Santeria, Lukumi, and Yoruba practitioners in Miami and Tallahassee. Beyond the study of music and religious ritual, she also interested in ethnographic documentary filmmaking, folklore studies, and cultural advocacy. She is thrilled to begin her work with the Pluralism Project in Miami, Florida this summer.

Jessie is a Master of Theological Studies candidate at Harvard Divinity School. Her areas of focus include religion in literature and material culture, religious pluralism in the United States, and the interfaith movement. Prior to Harvard, she worked with Seeds of Peace, a non-profit organization that runs a conflict resolution summer camp for teens from the Middle East and South Asia. Jessie graduated from Haverford College with a BA in Religion in 2009.

Katrina Rost is an undergraduate in her third year at the University of San Francisco. She is majoring in International Studies with a functional track in Peace and Conflict Studies and a regional minor in Middle Eastern Studies, along with a minor in Spanish. She has previously worked with the Student Peace Alliance Organization as well as the International Rescue Committee in Boise. In the future, she hopes to continue her studies concerning peace and conflict, feminist issues, and Middle Eastern and Latin American studies. She also hopes to master Spanish, French, and Arabic in the future. This summer Katrina will be conducting research for the Pluralism Project in Boise, Idaho.

Bishoy Sadek is an Egyptian interfaith worker. He developed an interest in Interfaith dialogue after attending the US State Department sponsored Study of US Institutes SUSI) Program for Religious Pluralism at Temple University, Philadelphia during Summer 2011. Subsequently, he helped organize several inter-cultural and inter-religious programs in the Middle East, Europe and the U.S. Currently, Bishoy is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences at Cairo University, where he also the Project Manager for a startup initiative that aims to teach business and entrepreneurial studies to non-business students. After graduation, Bishoy is planning to start his own social initiative to promote Arab-Jewish dialogue.

Terry Shoemaker recently completed his Master of Arts in Religious Studies at Western Kentucky University. His main areas of academic interest are in religion and the public sphere, religion and politics, religion in the American South, and examining religious communities as agential political spaces. Terry approaches these topics with an ethnographic method attempting to give voice to the perspectives of religious adherents. He has served as a religious leader, religious program specialist in the United States Navy, an ecumenical nonprofit Executive Director, and most recently initiated an interfaith movement on his university’s campus. He currently works at WKU’s Institute for Citizenship & Social Responsibility, where among other tasks, he investigates the civic relevance of interfaith cooperation. This summer Terry will be conducting research for the Pluralism Project in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Dina Yazdani is a rising junior at Lewis & Clark College, and attended Occidental College for the past two years. She is majoring in International Affairs with a focus on the Middle East, and is teaching herself both Arabic and Persian. As an aspiring scholar on Middle-Eastern politics, she spent her time at Occidental leading the clubs OneVoice to end the Israeli & Palestinian Conflict and the Muslim Students Association. She also interned with the Muslim Public Affairs Council and worked on campaigns to protect civil liberties and combat Islamophobia. Dina has a special interest in the role religion plays in the Middle East, and as the child of a Shi’ite father and a Sunni Mother, is personally motivated to find a solution to end the sectarian conflicts. In her spare time she likes to blogs about politics and fence. This summer Dina will be conducting research for the Pluralism Project in Portland, Oregon.