The Pluralism Project at Harvard UniversityWomen, Religion, and Social Change II
April 30 – May 4, 2003
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Description
Harvard University
April 30 - May 4, 2003
Hosted by the Pluralism Project at Harvard University
Financial support for this conference comes from a generous grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, with additional support from the Ford Foundation
Harvard Gazette article on the Conference
PARTICIPANTS:
Leila Ahmed, Harvard Divinity School
Laila Al-Marayati, Muslim Women's League
Sharifa Alkhateeb, North American Council for Muslim Women
Elizabeth Amoah, University of Ghana
Dorothy A. Austin, Memorial Church, Harvard University; Harvard Divinity School
Brigalia Bam, Independent Electoral Commission; University of Port Elizabeth Women's Development Foundation
Sissela Bok, Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies
Ann Braude, Women's Studies in Religion Program, Harvard Divinity School
Dhammananda bhikkhuni (Chatsumarn Kabilsingh), Buddhasavika Foundation; Songdhammakalyani Temple
Veena Das, Johns Hopkins University
Shamita Das Dasgupta, Manavi, Inc.
Sheila R. Decter, Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action
Diana L. Eck, The Pluralism Project, Harvard University
Dorothy Eck, Montana State Senate
Nawal El Saadawi, Arab Women's Solidarity Association
Blu Greenberg, Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance
Daphne Hampson, School of Divinity, University of St. Andrews
Grove Harris, Wiccan Priestess
Beverly Harrison, Union Theological Seminary (retired)
Sherif Hetata
Claudia Highbaugh, Harvard Divinity School
Mary Hunt, Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual (WATER)
Swanee Hunt, Women and Public Policy Program, John F. Kennedy School of Government
Alma Abdul-Hadi Jadallah, Institute for Conflict Analysis
Devaki Jain, United Nations Intellectual History Project (UNIHP); Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN)
"Perspectives on Peace" speech given at Conference
Azza Karam, World Conference on Religion and Peace
Shulamith Koenig, People's Movement for Human Rights Education (PDHRE)
Sylvia Marcos, Women's Studies Program, Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Morelos (UAEM);Centro de Investigaciones Psicoetnológicas; Instituto de Investigaciones Antropologicas, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM)
Melanie A. May, Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School
Judith Plaskow, Manhattan College
Terry Kay Rockefeller, September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows
Lynn Szwaja, The Rockefeller Foundation
Inés Talamantez, Department of Religion, UC Santa Barbara
Yifa, Hsi Lai University, Humanistic Buddhist Monastic Life Program, and Greater Boston Buddhist Cultural Center
Jean Zaru, Religious Society of Friends, Ramallah, Palestine and Sabeel, Palestinian Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center
Participant Articles (private)
"Women, Religion and Social Change II" is an international, interreligious conference to be held at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA from April 30 - May 4, 2003. This meeting will reunite a group of women who came together in 1983 for a groundbreaking interreligious conference on "Women, Religion and Social Change." This group, and their concerns, included the global and the local: participants came from Africa, Asia, the Middle East, North and South America, and Europe. The meeting drew together a diverse group of scholars and grass-roots activists for a week of intensive discussion. The broad working question of the conference was, "What is the relation of religion to the kinds of social change projects and struggles in which women are engaged around the world?" The book Speaking of Faith: Global Perspectives on Women, Religion, and Social Change, edited by Diana Eck and Devaki Jain, was a product of that meeting. Even more, new relationships and networks were formed.
In the past two decades, religion has continued to be a strong social and political force, for better and for worse. The changing demography of the world, through the migration of peoples as immigrants and refugees, has also created new, complex, multireligious societies, including the United States. Today, the dialogue of women across cultures and religious traditions is a local and national issue as well as a global concern. The Pluralism Project at Harvard University has focused on the changing religious landscape of the United States and has convened women's networks and organizations in the American context.
Those who participated in the 1983 conference on "Women, Religion and Social Change" were pioneers. Two decades later, they return as seasoned veterans with a world of insight and experience. In reuniting members of this group, and introducing new participants from the Pluralism Project's "Women's Networks," we hope to cultivate lively discussion and exchange across nations, traditions, and generations. As our global linkages become stronger, we all need to be able to see ourselves in the mirror and vision of each other.
Conference Objectives
The aims of "Women, Religion and Social Change II" include:
- To explore the relation of religion to the kinds of social change projects and struggles in which women are engaged around the world
- To gather together some of the participants of the "Women, Religion and Social Change" conference and learn from the experience and wisdom of each other
- To introduce new participants and perspectives into this conversation by including U.S. representatives from "Women's Networks" meetings
- To cultivate lively discussions and exchanges across nations, traditions, and generations
- To better understand the energies of religious communities in the turbulence of today's world
- To foster dialogue and discussion among women of diverse perspectives, including those with religious commitments and those with secular orientations; women working at a grassroots level as well as those in academic circles
- To cultivate and advance communication and networks among women who are working on issues of common concern
- To build bridges across difference and division through mutually respectful discussion
- To foster dialogue about women's participation in diverse religious communities
- To encourage greater understanding of women's roles in peacebuilding and social change
Public Events: WOMEN, RELIGION AND SOCIAL CHANGE II
Thursday, May 1: Barker Center for the Humanities [Space limited: by RSVP only]
| 3:30 PM |
The U.S. Religious Context Today Diana Eck, The Pluralism Project Sharifa Alkhateeb, North American Council of Muslim Women Shamita Das Dasgupta, Manavi Sheila Decter, Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action Beverly Harrison, Union Theological Seminary Emerita Terry Kay Rockefeller, Peaceful Tomorrows |
Friday, May 2: Harvard Divinity School, Sperry Room
| 9:00 AM |
Perspectives on the Global and the Local Mary Hunt, Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics & Ritual, Panel Chair Brigalia Bam, South Africa Independent Electoral Commission Devaki Jain, United Nations Intellectual History Project Azza Karam, World Conference on Religion and Peace |
| 10:45 AM | Religious Networks and Women's Leadership Dorothy Austin, The Memorial Church, Harvard University, Panel Chair Elizabeth Amoah, University of Ghana Dhammananda bhikkhuni (C. Kabilsingh), Buddhasavika Foundation Daphne Hampson, School of Divinity, University of St. Andrews Judith Plaskow, Manhattan College Ines Talamantez, University of California, Santa Barbara |
| 12:15 PM | Lunch (on own) |
| 2:00 PM |
Dialogue in the Midst of Conflict Alma Abdul-Hadi Jadallah, Institute for Conflict Analysis, Panel Chair |
| 4:00 PM | Religious Violence, Extremism, and Fundamentalisms Leila Ahmed, Harvard Divinity School, Panel Chair Veena Das, Johns Hopkins University Nawal El Saadawi, Arab Women's Solidarity Association & Sherif Hetata Melanie May, Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School Yifa, Hsi Lai University |
Saturday, May 3, Barker Center for the Humanities
[Space limited: by RSVP only]
| 10:45 AM |
Common Values, Human Rights, Civil Rights Ann Braude, Harvard Divinity School, Panel Chair Sissela Bok, Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies Dorothy Eck, Montana State Senate Grove Harris, The Pluralism Project Shulamith Koenig, People's Movement for Human Rights Education Sylvia Marcos, Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Morelos |