Dear Friends of the Pluralism Project,
I want to be sure you know that you are all warmly invited to a celebration
of the life of Brendan Randall, Senior Researcher of the Pluralism Project
and Teaching Assistant and Freshman Proctor at Harvard College. This
memorial celebration will take place this coming *Friday, October 13 at 3
pm *in *Eliot Lyman, Longfellow Hall, Harvard Graduate School of
Education, 13 Appian Way, Cambridge, MA
<https://www.google.com/maps/place/Longfellow+Hall,+13+Appian+Way,+Cambridge…>.
*A
reception will follow in the Reading Room of Gutman Library, just across
the street.
As you know, Brendan Randall left Cambridge to become a senior staff member
of the Interfaith Youth Core in Chicago. He travelled extensively with Eboo
Patel to colleges around the country, persuading and enabling educators to
steer into a curriculum that would support intercultural and interreligious
understanding. We were proud to have him extending the work of the
Pluralism Project with this partnership. Brendan died in a tragic accident
in Philadelphia this past summer. He was pursuing a doctorate at the
Harvard Graduate School of Education at the time of his death.
There are so many former students and colleagues at Harvard who remember
the energy and vision of Brendan Randall. All are welcome to this
celebration of his life and work.
Also as a reminder, Brendan's family has requested that those who wish to
make a donation in his memory give to Interfaith Youth Core
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.ifyc.org_&d=DwMFaQ&…>.
IFYC epitomized the concepts and values that Brendan committed himself to
as a scholar, educator, and change-maker. You can learn about their
important work at www.ifyc.org
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.ifyc.org_&d=DwMFaQ&…>
and
donate directly here
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__interfaithyouthcore.se…>;
just note in the comments that it is in memory of Brendan.
Cathleen, Brendan’s wife, has also suggested that those who wish to
honor Brendan's many commitments to K-12 education and to Harvard may
donate to the Harvard Teacher Fellows Program
<https://htf.gse.harvard.edu/>. HTF
prepares Harvard undergraduates to promote educational equity by providing
them rigorous preparation and support for teaching in high-need
urban schools. To make a gift, please visit here
<https://community.alumni.harvard.edu/give/13066245> and select “other”
under the fund selection and indicate in the “other fund name” field that
this gift is for* Harvard Teacher Fellows Support Fund, in memory
of Brendan Randall.*
I will speak on behalf of the Project and look forward to seeing and
meeting many of you on Friday.
With all best wishes,
Diana
Diana L. Eck
Frederic Wertham Professor of Law and Psychiatry in Society
Faculty Dean of Lowell House
Acting Chair, Committee on the Study of Religion
Director, The Pluralism Project <http://pluralism.org/>
--
The Pluralism Project at Harvard University
2 Arrow Street, 4th Floor
Cambridge, MA 02138
617-496-2481
www.pluralism.org
Twittter: @pluralismproj
Like The Pluralism Project on Facebook
<http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Pluralism-Project-at-Harvard-University/1…>!
Dear Pluralism Project community,
The Pluralism Project is devastated to learn of the death of Brendan
Randall, a long-time affiliate and Senior Researcher of the Pluralism
Project. He had a tragic accident while getting off a train in Philadelphia
on Thursday, July 6 and passed away on Sunday, July 9. We send our deepest
condolences to his wife, Cathleen Randall, and his family. He was an
energetic, brilliant, and accomplished scholar and teacher. He was also a
wonderful colleague and cherished friend—truly kind, generous, thoughtful,
and supportive.
Brendan’s loss is immense for the many communities of people with whom he
worked—here at Harvard and more recently at the Interfaith Youth Core in
Chicago. Brendan had an impressive array of Harvard degrees (A.B. 1988,
M.Ed. 2007, M.T.S. 2009, Ed.D. anticipated 2018) in addition to a law
degree from the University of Minnesota (1991). He had wide religious
knowledge and sensitivities, as well as significant experience in education
from his years at the Emma Willard School in Troy, New York. He kept his
legal eye sharp as ever as he plunged into the great civic controversies of
our own critical era in the emergence of multi-faith America. We remember
how he often humorously introduced himself as a “recovering lawyer” when he
first came to Harvard Divinity School. At the Pluralism Project, Brendan
worked closely with our case-study initiative in developing and teaching
the cases that involve students in the on-the-ground dilemmas of our time.
At the heart of his work was his concern with civic education for pluralism
and how schools can prepare students to live in a religiously diverse
democratic society. He was an invaluable, inventive, and beloved teaching
colleague in my case-studies course in General Education at Harvard
College, said by many of his students to be “the best teaching fellow I
have had at Harvard.” Brendan was a person we trusted with the vision and
future of the Project, even as he brought our work into the exciting
network of the Interfaith Youth Core as their Director of Campus
Engagement.
Brendan was a deeply humane thinker and teacher. Meira Levinson, his
dissertation advisor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, sees his
nearly-complete thesis as an outstanding synthesis of law, religion,
political theory, and education. "Religious Belief, Free Expression, and
‘Lightning Rod’ Issues: Agonistic Pluralism and Civic Education in a
Religiously Diverse Democracy" addresses both theoretical and practical
challenges in creating respectful school environments in a pluralist
society. Brendan was especially concerned with strengthening schools’
capacities to protect gender-nonconforming students and others who
challenged heteronormative discourse and behavior, while also protecting
other students' free religious expression. Brendan had the rare quality of
taking all sides in the debate seriously, on their own terms, while also
providing profound moral and legal guidance for schools, civic educators,
and all who care about promoting mutual respect and inclusion in these
polarized times.
Memorial services for Brendan are being planned for Minnesota in August and
Cambridge, MA in October. Please join the listserv created here
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__goo.gl_forms_X89sxkMeb…>
to be kept apprised of the plans for the Cambridge service and to connect
with one another about how we can best remember Brendan and honor his work.
Sincerely,
Diana
Diana Eck, Director of The Pluralism Project <http://pluralism.org/>
Professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Studies
Faculty Dean of Lowell House
Harvard University
-------
The Pluralism Project at Harvard University
2 Arrow Street, 4th Floor
Cambridge, MA 02138
617-496-2481
www.pluralism.org
Dear all,
Starting July 5th, Harvard University students and community members will
have a new Muslim chaplain. Khalil Abdur-Rashid is an adjunct professor of
Islamic Studies at Southern Methodist University and the co-founder of the
Islamic Seminary of America. To learn more about Abdur-Rashid, you can read
this Harvard Gazette article
<http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/06/harvard-appoints-a-muslim-cha…>
about his appointment.
I am delighted with this appointment, and we all look forward to his
presence at the University! And to our Muslim friends, we send our warm
greetings for Eid.
Best wishes,
Diana
Diana L. Eck
Professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Studies
Faculty Dean of Lowell House
Director, The Pluralism Project <http://www.pluralism.org/>
Harvard University
Twittter: @pluralismproj
Instagram: @pluralismproject
Like The Pluralism Project on Facebook
<http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Pluralism-Project-at-Harvard-University/1…>!
Dear friends,
We hope you will be able to join us for a meaningful day of workshops
tomorrow (Tuesday) on how to seek out "higher ground." Speakers and
facilitators include the Pluralism Project's own Research Director, Elinor
Pierce, as well as Rev. Mariama White Hammond, Bob Stains, Salma Kazmi,
Rabbi Or Rose, and many other illustrious leaders! Register at the link
below and check out the attached flier.
*Seeking Higher Ground: Religion and Conflict Transformation**Tuesday,
March 28, *
*9 am-4 pm, Hebrew College*
*(co-sponsored event- check out fliers for other sponsors)**This one day
workshop will explore the vision of our religious communities as contexts
for the discovery of “higher ground.” The presentations will be interactive
and will offer specific skills and practices from the world of conflict
transformation to assist professional and lay leaders in realizing this
vision. *
*REGISTER HERE
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__bit.ly_2lVQDDO&d=CwMFAg…>PLURALISM
PROJECT EVENTS COMING UP...*
*Performance and Discussion of “Kultar’s Mime”**Sunday, April 9, *
*4-6 pm, Tsai Auditorium, Harvard University**“Kultar's Mime” is a play
that blends painting, poetry, theater and music to tell the stories of Sikh
children who survived the 1984 Delhi massacre that was organized in the
wake of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's assassination. A collective of young
Jewish artists decides to commemorate a 1903 Pogrom that targeted Jews in
the Russian town of Kishinev. During their journey, they learn about the
1984 massacre of the Sikhs in Delhi and in a powerful moment of embracing
the pain of the 'other', they shift focus and decide to tell a story that
the world has largely ignored. *
*REGISTER HERE
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.eventbrite.com_e_k…>YOU
MIGHT BE INTERESTED...*
*Religions and the Practice of Peace Colloquium event: "Beyond
Militarization: The Role of Religious Communities in the Struggle for
Justice and Peace"**Thursday, April 6, 6-8:30 pm*
*, Sperry Room, Harvard Divinity School, 45 Francis Ave.**At a time when
the White House proposes to increase military spending by $54 billion while
slashing funds for social programs at home and humanitarian aid abroad, we
recall the warning of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that a nation
spending more money on the military than on social uplift "is approaching
spiritual death." What role can religious communities play today in
resisting war and militarism and working for social and economic justice?
Speaker David Cortright (University of Notre Dame) and respondent J. Bryan
Hehir (Harvard Kennedy School and Catholic Archdiocese of Boston) REGISTER
HERE <https://harvard.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bEjlM396uGy9XqB>*
Best wishes,
Pluralism Project staff
--
The Pluralism Project at Harvard University
2 Arrow Street, 4th Floor
Cambridge, MA 02138
617-496-2481
www.pluralism.org
Twittter: @pluralismproj
Like The Pluralism Project on Facebook
<http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Pluralism-Project-at-Harvard-University/1…>!
Dear friends,
We want to invite you to mark your calendars for two upcoming events in our
new initiative, “Communities Against Hate: Response and Resilience in
Multireligious Boston," which we kicked off with our first event
<https://www.facebook.com/pg/pluralismproj/photos/?tab=album&album_id=135440…>
this week. (You can read more about the initiative here
<http://pluralism.org/communities-against-hate-response-and-resilience-in-mu…>!)
Fliers for both events are attached. We hope you will be able to join us!
As always, please let us know if you have any questions.
*Seeking Higher Ground: Religion and Conflict Transformation**Tuesday,
March 28, *
*9 am-4 pm, Hebrew College*
*(co-sponsored event- check out fliers for other sponsors)**This one day
workshop will explore the vision of our religious communities as contexts
for the discovery of “higher ground.” The presentations will be interactive
and will offer specific skills and practices from the world of conflict
transformation to assit professional and lay leaders in realizing this
vision. *
*REGISTER HERE
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__bit.ly_2lVQDDO&d=CwMFAg…>*
*Performance and Discussion of “Kultar’s Mime”**Sunday, April 9, *
*4-6 pm, Tsai Auditorium, Harvard University**“Kultar's Mime” is a play
that blends painting, poetry, theater and music to tell the stories of Sikh
children who survived the 1984 Delhi massacre that was organized in the
wake of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's assassination. A collective of young
Jewish artists decides to commemorate a 1903 Pogrom that targeted Jews in
the Russian town of Kishinev. During their journey, they learn about the
1984 massacre of the Sikhs in Delhi and in a powerful moment of embracing
the pain of the 'other', they shift focus and decide to tell a story that
the world has largely ignored. **REGISTER HERE
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.eventbrite.com_e_k…>*
Best wishes,
Pluralism Project staff
--
The Pluralism Project at Harvard University
2 Arrow Street, 4th Floor
Cambridge, MA 02138
617-496-2481
www.pluralism.org
Twittter: @pluralismproj
Like The Pluralism Project on Facebook
<http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Pluralism-Project-at-Harvard-University/1…>!
*WHAT: Roundtable Discussion: Response and Resilience in Multireligious
Boston*
*WHEN & WHERE: March 7th at 6 pm in Ticknor Lounge, Boylston Hall, Harvard
University*
*MORE INFO: Click here <https://www.facebook.com/events/962567907176893/>*
Dear friends,
We hope our local allies will join us for our upcoming event on March 7th.
This event will serve as the kickoff to a larger project, which brings us
to some exciting news: *The Pluralism Project has received a grant from the
Open Society Foundations' initiative "Communities Against Hate."* We are
eager to gather a diverse group of voices together for the first event in
this series, so please take a moment to register
<https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JTRBBCZ> if you would like to join us on
Tuesday, March 7th.
Our initiative, "Communities Against Hate: Response and Resilience in
Multireligious Boston
<http://pluralism.org/communities-against-hate-response-and-resilience-in-mu…>,"
will bring together leaders and community members from religious,
interfaith, and civic groups for monthly sessions over the next 6 months
where attendees can network, share information, and collaborate on best
practices. The Pluralism Project will also be documenting support efforts
and bias-motivated incidents while creating a centralized calendar for
events and actions. We are eager to partner with local leaders and groups
to build and strengthen multi-sided networks of response and resilience.
Below this message you will find the press release with more details about
the program, and you can bookmark the initiative page
<http://pluralism.org/communities-against-hate-response-and-resilience-in-mu…>
to stay up-to-date on relevant events and endeavors. We are also
offering summer
internships
<http://pluralism.org/about/contribute/internship-opportunities/> to
support this work, so please pass this along to any undergraduate or
graduate students (from any college or university) who might be interested.
We hope to see many of you on Tuesday, and we look forward to keeping you
updated as we move forward on this timely and important project!
Best wishes,
The Pluralism Project staff
--------------------------------------
*Pluralism Project Launches Initiative “Response and Resilience in
Multireligious Boston” Through Grant from the Open Society Foundations*
*Cambridge, MA, March 1, 201*7– On March 7th, The Pluralism Project at
Harvard University will launch its new initiative, “Communities Against
Hate: Response and Resilience in Multireligious Boston.” The public event,
held at 6 pm in Ticknor Lounge, Boylston Hall on Harvard’s campus, will be
a roundtable discussion with civic and religious leaders as well as members
of communities most affected by increased hate speech and bias-motivated
harassment. This event will include civic leaders from the Attorney
General’s Office, Cambridge City Council, the ACLU, and other local
organizations. The second event in this project, a performance and
discussion of the powerful play “Kultar’s Mime,” will take place in early
April in Cambridge.
This project is made possible by a grant from the Open Society Foundations’
rapid-response initiative, “Communities Against Hate,” which allocates
multiple small grants for projects responding to and fighting against acts
of hate while supporting collaboration, cooperation, and bridge-building
among vulnerable communities and their allies. The Pluralism Project’s
longstanding track record as a trusted resource for research, education,
and collaboration makes it an ideal partner for this initiative of the Open
Society Foundations.
Incidents of hate crimes and bias-motivated harassment are rising in
Greater Boston, from spray-painted swastikas in high school bathrooms to
the verbal harassment of Sikh and Muslim college students. At the same
time, we have seen a striking increase in civic response that builds
solidarity. The Project’s 8-month initiative will collaborate with Muslim,
Sikh, Jewish, Hindu, and Christian communities to track incidents of
harassment as well as the response of local communities. This project will
also include monthly sessions for leaders from these communities in order
to centralize information sharing, document local incidents, offer
skill-building opportunities, and allow leaders to network and share best
practices in increasingly difficult times. Pluralism Project staff will
also develop a decision-based case study about a Boston incident that might
enable leaders and laity to understand some of the dilemmas and strategies
of response when an individual or community is attacked.
Pluralism Project Director and Harvard University Professor Diana Eck
expressed her excitement for the work ahead: “In this climate of fear,
threat, and uncertainty that affects many vulnerable communities, it is
urgent to develop multi-sided networks of response and resilience. We need
to hear each other -- Sikhs, Muslims, Jews, and Christians, African
Americans and Latinos, mayors and city councilors. Whether the harassment
of a Sikh student at Harvard or the swastikas on a suburban school wall,
the issues we face are of mutual concern across lines of faith. For many
years, the Pluralism Project has been at the forefront of documenting the
fast-changing religious landscape of greater Boston. I look forward to this
opportunity to convene a working group of religious and civic leaders as we
face the future together.”
As OSF moves forward with other grantees in the Boston area, the Pluralism
Project will work to build relationships and collaborate with these new
partners. For more information on the event and this initiative, please
visit the Pluralism Project website (www.pluralism.org).
--------------------------------------
*Want to invest with us in this immensely important work?*
*Make a tax-deductible donation online
<http://pluralism.org/about/contribute/donate/> or donate by check at the
address below, payable to Harvard University (Memo note: "Pluralism
Project")Want to get involved?*
*Email us <staff(a)pluralism.org>, follow us on Facebook
<https://www.facebook.com/pluralismproj/?fref=ts> to learn about events,
films, and organizations, or call us to find out about opportunities to
engage*
--
The Pluralism Project at Harvard University
2 Arrow Street, 4th Floor
Cambridge, MA 02138
617-496-2481
www.pluralism.org
Twittter: @pluralismproj
Like The Pluralism Project on Facebook
<http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Pluralism-Project-at-Harvard-University/1…>
!
[image: http://pluralism.org/about/contribute/donate/]
<http://pluralism.org/about/contribute/donate/>
*Please join the Pluralism Project on Sunday, Feb. 12th for a*
*Roundtable Discussion: Response and Resilience in Multireligious Boston*
Please join the Pluralism Project as it convenes religious, interfaith and
civic leaders of Greater Boston for a roundtable discussion on what
resources, skills, and help communities can offer one another in these
increasingly tense times. Collaborators at the event include civic leaders,
leaders of Muslim, Jewish, Christian, and Sikh communities in the greater
Boston area, and leaders of some of the interfaith and multicultural
councils that have become something of a rapid-response team following
incidents of threat, bias, or hate. The Pluralism Project will use
insights gleaned from this event to inform its efforts to help build an
intentional and multisided network of vigilance and support for religious
minority and vulnerable communities. This event is free and open to the
public. Registration <https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/69P5GYZ> is
appreciated but not required.
*WHEN*: Sunday, February 12th from 4-6 pm
*WHERE*: Thompson Room, Barker Center, 12 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA
<https://www.google.com/maps/place/Barker+Ctr,+12+Quincy+St,+Cambridge,+MA+0…>
*CLICK HERE TO REGISTER! <https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/69P5GYZ>SHARE THIS
EVENT WITH YOUR FRIENDS ON FACEBOOK!
<https://www.facebook.com/events/688544324658438/>*
*Want to invest with us in this immensely important work?*
*Make a tax-deductible donation online
<http://pluralism.org/about/contribute/donate/> or donate by check at the
address below, payable to Harvard University (Memo note: "Pluralism
Project")Want to get involved?*
*Email us <staff(a)pluralism.org>, follow us on Facebook
<https://www.facebook.com/pluralismproj/?fref=ts> to learn about events,
films, and organizations, or call us to find out about opportunities to
engage*
The Pluralism Project at Harvard University
2 Arrow Street, 4th Floor
Cambridge, MA 02138
617-496-2481
www.pluralism.org
Like The Pluralism Project on Facebook
<http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Pluralism-Project-at-Harvard-University/1…>
Dear local friends,
We want to share with you the opportunity to see a thought-provoking film
that tells the story of the group Combatants for Peace
<http://cfpeace.org/about-us/our-vision/>, which aims to bridge the divide
between Israelis and Palestinians and work towards a two state solution.
The film, "Disturbing the Peace <http://disturbingthepeacefilm.com/>," will
be shown at the *MFA on Nov. 11th at 12:30 pm*
<https://www.facebook.com/events/169790306759193/> as a part of the Boston
Jewish Film Festival. *Our subscribers can receive 25% off by buying
tickets in advance here
<http://prod1.agileticketing.net/websales/pages/info.aspx?evtinfo=109494~3a1…>
and using using the code PEACE.* This film screening, though not
co-sponsored by the Pluralism Project, will no doubt spark conversation and
explore ways of working together through accepting diversity and pursuing
dialogue.
If you would like to learn more about some of the people involved in this
organization, you can read this recent New York Times article
<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/29/world/middleeast/once-a-would-be-suicide-…>
about Shifa al-Qudsi, a Palestinian woman who once aspired to be a suicide
bomber and now works with Combatants for Peace.
Best wishes,
the Pluralism Project staff
--
The Pluralism Project at Harvard University
2 Arrow Street, 4th Floor
Cambridge, MA 02138
617-496-2481
www.pluralism.org
Twittter: @pluralismproj
Like The Pluralism Project on Facebook
<http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Pluralism-Project-at-Harvard-University/1…>
!
Dear friends,
Please join us tomorrow morning (Friday) for our final panel, sponsored by
the* El Hibri Foundation, "Islamophobia in the Age of Interfaith
<http://pluralism.org/el-hibri-foundation-panel-islamophobia-in-the-age-of-i…>."*
Many friends and affiliates will be joining us, and we will also be
accepting walk-ins. The event starts at 9 am in the Sperry Room, Andover
Hall, Harvard Divinity School, 45 Francis Ave., Cambridge, MA 02138
<https://www.google.com/maps/place/45+Francis+Ave,+Cambridge,+MA+02138/@42.3…>.
At the panel we'll hear from:
- Ali Asani, Harvard University
- Imam Taymullah Abdur-Rahman, Harvard University
- Parvez Ahmed, University of Florida
- Celene Ibrahim, Boston Islamic Seminary, CIRCLE, and Tufts University
- Imam Hassan Selim, Islamic Center of Cedar Rapids
We hope to see you there!
Warmly,
Dr. Diana L. Eck
Director, The Pluralism Project
*The Pluralism Project at Harvard University*
*2 Arrow Street, 4th FloorCambridge, MA 02138*
617-496-2481
www.pluralism.org
Twittter: @pluralismproj <http://www.twitter.com/pluralismproj>
Like The Pluralism Project on Facebook
<http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Pluralism-Project-at-Harvard-University/1…>
!