Engaging students in the process of field research lies at the heart of the Pluralism Project. Throughout the Project’s history students have contributed as affiliates, summer interns, and staff members. These contributions run the gamut, from initial fieldwork on religious diversity in Boston, to the development of On Common Ground; from their work on convenings and special events to the creation and ongoing content development of pluralism.org. Below is a historical list of student affiliates and their research topics and/or presentations. For a time, the Pluralism Project, thanks to a grant from the Ford Foundation, was able to offer stipends for student affiliates to pursue summer research.
Today, some of these former students, like Jeff Wilson, have gone on to pursue careers in the academic study of religion; others, like Greg McGonigle are religious leaders; still others have taken different paths entirely.
Former Student Affliates
Michael Allen
“Oriental” Orthodox Christianity: The Coptic, Ethiopian, Armenian, Syrian, and Indian Churches in America
Harvard Divinity School
Celia Arch
Hindu and Jain Temples in Atlanta, GA
Georgia State University
Eric Barbee
Mapping the Religious Diversity of Arkansas
Harvard Divinity School
Abbas Barzegar
The Dynamics of the Colorado Muslim Community: Pluralism as Seen Through the Study of Five Organizations
University of Colorado, Boulder
Marcia Beauchamp
Uses of the Building Bridges of Understanding Curriculum
California Institute of Integral Studies
George Bogden and Erin Biel
The Role of Religion in the Integration of Iraqi Refugees in New Haven, CT
Yale University
Michel Boudreaux
Ethnic Tibetan Buddhists and Indian Shi’ite Muslims in the Twin Cities, Minnesota
Augsburg College
Lori Calmbacher
Mapping Typologies of Interfaith Structures in the United States
Barnard College
Sarita Cargas
Attitudes Towards Interfaith Survey
Oxford University
Maribel Valencia Castillo
Hmong Shamans: A Journey to the Spirit World
Marguerite Kate Cauble
The South Indian Christian Community and Mapping in Houston, Texas
Harvard College
Ruth Craig
Elat Chayyim and the Jewish Renewal Movement
Harvard College
Erin Ehmen
The Buddhist Community and Mapping in Madison, Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Jessica Falcone
Hindutva and Vedanta Go to Camp: VHP and Chinmaya Summer Camps in the Washington D.C. Area
Cornell University
Beverley Foulks
Mapping Religious Communities and Interfaith Collaboration in San Diego
Harvard Divinity School
Anisha Gade
Telugu Associations in Wisconsin
American University
Daniel Glade
Mapping the Multi-religious Diversity of the Quad Cities: A case study in Asian religions outside major metropolitan areas
Illinois Wesleyan University
Sarah Therese Hader
Mapping the Multi-religious Demography of Milwaukee for the Milwaukee Pluralism Project
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Shiraz Hajiani
Islam in America Conference
Harvard Divinity School
Melinda Haley
The Role of the Great Stupa of Dharmakaya at the Rocky Mountain Shambhala Center in the U.S. Buddhist Community
Drew University
Chelsea Hanson
Mapping Religious Diversity in Idaho
Connecticut College
Omar Haque
Muslim Communities in Rhode Island
Harvard Divinity School
Kate Holbrook
Mapping Religious Diversity in Utah
Harvard Divinity School
Iza Hussin
The Politics of Women’s Worship: Space, Activism and Interfaith Horizons in American Islam
Georgetown University
Scott Hyslop
Mapping Religious Diversity in Montana
Montana State University
Brannon Ingram
Mississippi -Mapping the Muslim Communities
Reed College
Tonushree Jaggi
Apna Ghar: Domestic Violence and Reaching Out to Chicago’s Faith Communities
Harvard College
Zahra Jamal
Embodying Ethics, Performing Pluralism: Volunteerism among Ismailis in Houston, TX
Harvard University
Jason Ananda Josephson
Soka Gakkai in America: an Update
Stanford University
Gurpreet Kaur
American Sikhs’ Political Roles After Sept. 11
Cedar Crest College
Shenila S. Khoja-Moolji
An Emerging Model of Muslim Leadership: Chaplaincy on University Campuses
Pluralism Project at Harvard University
Joseph Laycock
Mapping Religious Diversity in Austin, Texas
Harvard Divinity School
Michael Linderman
Hindu Temples of New Jersey
University of Pennsylvania
Yang Liu
Mapping Buddhism in Austin- A Sociological Analysis of the Asian Immigrant Religion
University of Texas at Austin
Syamsul Ma’arif, Ahmad Muttaqin
Islam in South Florida
Gadja Mada University, Indonesia; Florida International University
Gregory McGonigle
Mapping Religious Diversity in Rhode Island
Harvard Divinity School
Katherine Rose Merriman
Beyond Park 51: Mosques and Muslim Communities in New York City Post 9/11
Speaker, Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS) 2011 Annual Conference
Jeslyn Miller
“How Shall We Sing the Lord’s Song in a Strange Land:” Cuban Santeria in the New York City Diaspora Community
Harvard College
Shabana Mir
American Muslim Women University Students: The Significance of Clothing
Indiana University
Michelle Moritis
Hindu Identity and Hindu Summer Camps
Teachers College, Columbia University
Vanessa Munari
Double invisibilization and religious pluralism in the north east of Italy: A visual approach
Department of Sociology, Università degli Studi di Padova, Italy
Martin Nguyen
Institutionalization and Practice Among Sufi Orders in Boston
Harvard Divinity School
Sarina Pasricha
The Inauguration ot the Hindu Temple of Delaware
Harvard College
Anastasia Piliavsky
Networking Within and Beyond the Temple Walls
Boston University
Ishanaa Nidhi Rambachan
Indo-Carribbean Hindu Temples in Minnesota
Eastview High School
Angela Rudert
Gender and Swaminarayan Hinduism in Atlanta, GA
Cornell University
Stephanie Saldaña
Religious Diversity in San Antonio, TX
Harvard Divinity School
Katy Shrout
Mapping Religious Diversity in Augusta. GA
Emory University
Christina Safiya Tobias-Nahi
The New Post 9/11 Reality: Isolation Versus Insulation
Harvard Graduate School of Education
Beth Varro
Mapping the Interfaith Landscape in Minnesota
Harvard Divinity School
Michele Verma
Indo-Caribbean Hindus in Queens, New York
Columbia University
Tracy Wells
Mapping Religious Diversity in South Carolina
Furman University
Brenda Whitlock
The Arizona Buddhist Temple 1936 – Present: A Historical Narrative
Arizona State University
Lauren-Ann Iysha Williams
Interfaith Collaboration in Hudson County New Jersey During and After the
Montclair State University
Jeff Wilson
Changing Minds: Cooperation and Contestation at a Pan-Sectarian Buddhist Holiday
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Nasreen Yazdani
Mapping Baha’i Communities in San Diego County, California
Smith College
Benjamin Zeller
Mapping the Hindu Community in North-Central North Carolina;Transitions at New Goloka, North Carolina
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill