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Soup and Hope with Shaul Magid - Spring Faculty Speaker Lunch Series

Join the HDS community for soup and bread as we hear from HDS faculty sharing their intellectual and spiritual autobiographies. Each speaker will particularly focus on what sustains their sense of hope at this time in history. No registration is necessary. Sponsor: HDS Office of Religious and Spiritual Life. Contact: Kerry A. Maloney, kmaloney@hds.harvard.edu. Monday, April 6, 2026, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM. Braun Room, Swartz Hall 101, 45 Francis Ave.

CSWR Poetry Series: The Invisible Sun: Poetry, Translation, and the Mystical Imagination with Sholeh Wolpé

Registration is encouraged. Please register to attend in person. Please register to attend on Zoom. The Invisible Sun is the first comprehensive English collection of poetry by the twelfth-century Persian mystic Attar, revered by Rumi as his master. Translated by award-winning poet Sholeh Wolpé this luminous selection introduces Attar’s timeless Sufi wisdom—poetry that speaks to the soul’s inward journey, self-knowledge, and spiritual awakening. About the Author & Translator Attar (1145–1221), a Persian Sufi poet from Nishapur, profoundly influenced Rumi and remains one of the most important mystic poets of the Islamic world. SHOLEH WOLPÉ is an Iranian-born poet, playwright, and acclaimed translator of Persian literature. Programming Series: Poetry. Sponsor: Center for the Study of World Religions. Contact: Laurie D. Sedgwick, CSWR Events Coordinator ldsedgwick@hds.harvard.edu. Tuesday, April 7, 2026, 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM. Common Room, CSWR 42 Francis Ave. Cambridge, MA. For more info visit cswr.hds.harvard.edu.

Harvard Divinity School Conference on Truth and Reconciliation Experiences in the U.S.

Please register to attend. Hosted by the Office for Community and Belonging through a restorative, heart-centered approach, this conference will serve as the inaugural public launching of the Harvard Divinity School Truth and Healing Commission. The convening is a call to affirm our common humanity and to advance the vision of a world healed of the harms that separate us from the natural world, from ourselves, and from one another. We are building a new world through a shared value of love. The conference will highlight the work of Truth and Reconciliation initiatives in the United States and will feature representatives from two foundational initiatives: the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission in North Carolina and the Maine-Wabanaki Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Child Welfare. Members of these commissions will share how they worked to reconcile across differences and engaged in constructive dialogue through truth telling to heal communities after violence and historical harm. The Comm… Sponsor: HDS Office for Community and Belonging. Contact: Matt Kinnemore jkinnemore@hds.harvard.edu. Wednesday, April 8, 2026, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM. HDS James Room, Swartz Hall. For more info visit www.hds.harvard.edu.

Integrating Tarot and Psychotherapy to Navigate Personal and Collective Upheaval and Grief

We are living in an era marked by climate collapse, political instability, existential anxiety, and epidemic levels of depression and burnout. Within this climate, there is a renewed scholarly and cultural interest to integrate tarot and oracular imagery into the therapeutic and counseling practice. Approached through a depth psychological lens, these tools serve as intuitive technologies that activate imagination and cultivate resilience for navigating personal and collective upheaval and grief. Through this experiential workshop, participants will engage with Tarot and dreamwork as a technique for psycho-spiritual healing, encountering firsthand how symbolic systems function as a via regia to soul-making. Lauren Z. Schneider, M.A. M.F.T is a pioneer in the field of psycho-spirituality. For over three decades, she has integrated family systems, hypnotherapy, dreamwork and her pioneering method, Tarotpy® as a highly effective method of spiritual psychotherapy. Tarotpy® is included as a healing modality in… Sponsor: HDS Feminists Making Midrash & HDS Magick Paths. Contact: studentlife@hds.harvard.edu. Wednesday, April 8, 2026, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM. Williams Chapel, Swartz Hall 212, 45 Francis Ave.

HDS & the American Unitarian Association

A panel discussion for the 200th anniversary of the American Unitarian Association. The panelists are Dan McKanan, Ralph Waldo Emerson Unitarian Universalist Senior Lecturer at Harvard Divinity School; Aisha Ansano, Counselor to Unitarian Universalist Students; and Terry Dixon, HDS MDiv candidate. Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt, UUA President and Rev. Nancy McDonald Ladd, Director of Communications and Public Ministry at the UUA, will also deliver remarks. Sponsor: HDS Library. Contact: Gloria Korsman - gkorsman@hds.harvard.edu. Religious tradition: Unitarian Universalist. Thursday, April 9, 2026, 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM. HDS Cader Room.

Deep Listening for Community Organizing with Marshall Ganz

Deep listening, as described by composer Pauline Oliveros, is a practice of “listening in every possible way to everything possible to hear.” This can become a way of being in a new kind of relation with ourselves and our environments, fostering experiences of embodied connection for community building. Join us for a session with Professor Marshall Ganz, Senior Lecturer in Leadership, Organizing, and Civil Society at the Kennedy School of Government, on the practical approaches of Deep Listening for movement organizing, leadership development, and community building. This session will consist of lecture, narrative and listening exercises and group discussions. Sponsor: HDS SONAR & Harvard Culture Lab Innovation Fund. Contact: studentlife@hds.harvard.edu. Thursday, April 9, 2026, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM. Braun Room, Swartz Hall 101, 45 Francis Ave.

Rurality: Design, Land, Kinship (registration required)

Come join the HDS Garden and GSD Rural Club for a convening on Rurality: Design, Land, Kinship with an Art Gallery on Friday April 10th, Three Panels on Saturday April 11th, and Forest Walk on Sunday April 12th. We look forward to evaluating the intersection between spirituality and design in rural spaces! <scribe-shadow data-crx="okfkdaglfjjjfefdcppliegebpoegaii" id="crxjs-ext" style="position: fixed; width: 0px; height: 0px; top: 0px; left: 0px; z-index: 2147483647; overflow: visible; visibility: visible;"></scribe-shadow>. Sponsor: Rural GSD and HDS Garden Club, with generous support from the Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability, the Loeb Fellowship at Harvard GSD, and Harvard Divinity School.  <scribe-shadow data-crx="okfkdaglfjjjfefdcppliegebpoegaii" id="crxjs-ext" style="position: fixed; width: 0px; height: 0px; top: 0px; left: 0px; z-index: 2147483647; overflow: visible; visibility: visible;"></scribe-shadow>. Contact: studentlife@hds.harvard.edu<scribe-shadow data-crx="okfkdaglfjjjfefdcppliegebpoegaii" id="crxjs-ext" style="position: fixed; width: 0px; height: 0px; top: 0px; left: 0px; z-index: 2147483647; overflow: visible; visibility: visible;"></scribe-shadow>. Friday, April 10, 2026 – Sunday, April 12, 2026. various. For more info visit harvard.az1.qualtrics.com.

Psychedelic Intersections 2026: “Psychedelic Intersections: Bridging Humanities, Religion, and Law”

Registration is required. Please note: In-person registration is now fully subscribed. You may join the waitlist or register to attend via Zoom. The Harvard Study of Psychedelics in Society and Culture is pleased to announce that the fourth annual Psychedelic Intersections Conference will be held at Harvard Divinity School on April 10–11, 2026. Building on the Center for the Study of World Religions’ (CSWR’s) popular conference series, the 2026 gathering is a collaborative initiative of the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard Divinity School, the Mahindra Humanities Center at Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School. Programming Series: Psychedelics and Ethics. Spirituality and Psychedelics. Psychedelics and the Future of Religion. Sponsor: Center for the Study of World Religions. Contact: Laurie D. Sedgwick, CSWR Events Coordinator ldsedgwick@hds.harvard.edu. Friday, April 10, 2026, 9:00 AM – 5:45 PM. Swartz Hall, Harvard Divinity School (45 Francis Avenue, Cambridge, MA). For more info visit cswr.hds.harvard.edu.

Psychedelic Intersections 2026: “Psychedelic Intersections: Bridging Humanities, Religion, and Law”

Registration is required. Please note: In-person registration is now fully subscribed. You may join the waitlist or register to attend via Zoom. The Harvard Study of Psychedelics in Society and Culture is pleased to announce that the fourth annual Psychedelic Intersections Conference will be held at Harvard Divinity School on April 10–11, 2026. Building on the Center for the Study of World Religions’ (CSWR’s) popular conference series, the 2026 gathering is a collaborative initiative of the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard Divinity School, the Mahindra Humanities Center at Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School. Programming Series: Psychedelics and Ethics. Spirituality and Psychedelics. Psychedelics and the Future of Religion. Sponsor: Center for the Study of World Religions. Contact: Laurie D. Sedgwick, CSWR Events Coordinator ldsedgwick@hds.harvard.edu. Saturday, April 11, 2026, 9:00 AM – 5:45 PM. Swartz Hall, Harvard Divinity School (45 Francis Avenue, Cambridge, MA). For more info visit cswr.hds.harvard.edu.

Standing at the Watchpost: 2026 Black Religion, Spirituality, and Culture Convening

Standing at the Watchpost: Womanist Vision, Interpretation, and Leadership is a one-day scholarly convening bringing together womanist scholars whose work spans social movements, institutional leadership, and biblical and theological interpretation. Grounded in the prophetic posture of Habakkuk 2:1, the conference frames the watchpost as a site of disciplined attentiveness—where vision is sharpened, language is clarified, and ethical courage is sustained. At a moment marked by social upheaval, institutional fatigue, and contested moral authority, womanist thinkers continue to serve as essential interpreters of the times. They read movements as theological texts, articulate moral meaning with precision, and lead within institutions whose commitments and practices are often in tension. This conference centers womanist scholarship not merely as critique, but as prophetic leadership that shapes communal discernment and public life. Organized around three interrelated movements—Seeing Prophetically, Speaking… Sponsor: Harambee: HDS Students of African Descent. Contact: studentlife@hds.harvard.edu. Monday, April 13, 2026. Swartz Hall, 45 Francis Ave.

Standing at the Watchpost: Framing the Day

Welcome and grounding , Orientation to the theme and flow of the day , Brief ritual or reading (optional), Standing at the Watchpost: Womanist Vision, Interpretation, and Leadership is a one-day scholarly convening bringing together womanist scholars whose work spans social movements, institutional leadership, and biblical and theological interpretation. Grounded in the prophetic posture of Habakkuk 2:1, the conference frames the watchpost as a site of disciplined attentiveness—where vision is sharpened, language is clarified, and ethical courage is sustained. At a moment marked by social upheaval, institutional fatigue, and contested moral authority, womanist thinkers continue to serve as essential interpreters of the times. They read movements as theological texts, articulate moral meaning with precision, and lead within institutions whose commitments and practices are often in tension. This conference centers womanist scholarship not merely as critique, but as prophetic leadership that shapes communal… Sponsor: Harambee: HDS Students of African Descent. Contact: studentlife@hds.harvard.edu. Monday, April 13, 2026, 10:00 AM – 10:40 AM. Jamres Room, Swartz Hall 120/122, 45 Francis Ave.

Standing at the Watchpost: Panel I Seeing Prophetically: Social Movements & Moral Discernment

Reading social movements as theological texts , Vigilance against erasure, cooptation, and burnout , Protest, policy, and prophetic imagination, Standing at the Watchpost: Womanist Vision, Interpretation, and Leadership is a one-day scholarly convening bringing together womanist scholars whose work spans social movements, institutional leadership, and biblical and theological interpretation. Grounded in the prophetic posture of Habakkuk 2:1, the conference frames the watchpost as a site of disciplined attentiveness—where vision is sharpened, language is clarified, and ethical courage is sustained. At a moment marked by social upheaval, institutional fatigue, and contested moral authority, womanist thinkers continue to serve as essential interpreters of the times. They read movements as theological texts, articulate moral meaning with precision, and lead within institutions whose commitments and practices are often in tension. This conference centers womanist scholarship not merely as critique, but as… Sponsor: Harambee: HDS Students of African Descent. Contact: studentlife@hds.harvard.edu. Monday, April 13, 2026, 10:45 AM – 11:45 AM. James Room, Swartz Hall 120/122, 45 Francis Ave.

Public Research Talk: Mystics Made the Revolution: Spiritually Transformative Experiences in the Long Eighteenth Century with Nicole Bauer

Registration is required. Please register to attend in person. Please register to attend on Zoom.  Possession and trance were signs of weak minds in the eighteenth century, yet many, even those in privileged positions, reported visions, near-death experiences, and intense dreams. These altered states led thinkers to become more creative, to rely on their own experience rather than traditional authority, and to become more compassionate. These experiences also opened the doors to subversive, groundbreaking thought, which led to revolutionary action. Altered states were not a hidden, shadow side of the Enlightenment but rather integral to it, and we cannot understand the birth of modernity without taking them into serious consideration.      Nicole Bauer is a cultural historian specializing in early modern France. Her first book, Tracing the Shadow of Secrecy and Government Transparency (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022), examined the changing attitudes towards secrecy in pre-revolutionary and revolutionary France.… Sponsor: Center for the Study of World Religions. Contact: Laurie D. Sedgwick, CSWR Events Coordinator ldsedgwick@hds.harvard.edu. Monday, April 13, 2026, 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM. Common Room, CSWR, 42 Francis Ave. Cambridge. For more info visit cswr.hds.harvard.edu.

Standing at the Watchpost: Panel II Speaking Clearly: Interpretation as Power

Womanist biblical and theological interpretation as moral clarification , Reading scripture against empire, patriarchy, and racial capitalism , Teaching, preaching, and publishing as acts of resistance and formation, Standing at the Watchpost: Womanist Vision, Interpretation, and Leadership is a one-day scholarly convening bringing together womanist scholars whose work spans social movements, institutional leadership, and biblical and theological interpretation. Grounded in the prophetic posture of Habakkuk 2:1, the conference frames the watchpost as a site of disciplined attentiveness—where vision is sharpened, language is clarified, and ethical courage is sustained. At a moment marked by social upheaval, institutional fatigue, and contested moral authority, womanist thinkers continue to serve as essential interpreters of the times. They read movements as theological texts, articulate moral meaning with precision, and lead within institutions whose commitments and practices are often in tension. This… Sponsor: Harambee: HDS Students of African Descent. Contact: studentlife@hds.harvard.edu. Monday, April 13, 2026, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM. James Room, Swartz Hall 120/122, 45 Francis Ave.

Standing at the Watchpost: Panel III Standing Firm: Institutional Leadership & Ethical Risk

Leading within compromised or contradictory institutions , Navigating proximity to power without losing moral clarity , Accountability, refusal, and strategic patience, Standing at the Watchpost: Womanist Vision, Interpretation, and Leadership is a one-day scholarly convening bringing together womanist scholars whose work spans social movements, institutional leadership, and biblical and theological interpretation. Grounded in the prophetic posture of Habakkuk 2:1, the conference frames the watchpost as a site of disciplined attentiveness—where vision is sharpened, language is clarified, and ethical courage is sustained. At a moment marked by social upheaval, institutional fatigue, and contested moral authority, womanist thinkers continue to serve as essential interpreters of the times. They read movements as theological texts, articulate moral meaning with precision, and lead within institutions whose commitments and practices are often in tension. This conference centers womanist scholarship not merely as… Sponsor: Harambee: HDS Students of African Descent. Contact: studentlife@hds.harvard.edu. Monday, April 13, 2026, 2:05 PM – 3:05 PM. James Room, Swartz Hall 120/122, 45 Francis Ave.

Standing at the Watchpost: Closing Session From the Watchpost Forward: A Collective Charge

Synthesis of the day , Intergenerational reflection , Closing words and sending forth, Standing at the Watchpost: Womanist Vision, Interpretation, and Leadership is a one-day scholarly convening bringing together womanist scholars whose work spans social movements, institutional leadership, and biblical and theological interpretation. Grounded in the prophetic posture of Habakkuk 2:1, the conference frames the watchpost as a site of disciplined attentiveness—where vision is sharpened, language is clarified, and ethical courage is sustained. At a moment marked by social upheaval, institutional fatigue, and contested moral authority, womanist thinkers continue to serve as essential interpreters of the times. They read movements as theological texts, articulate moral meaning with precision, and lead within institutions whose commitments and practices are often in tension. This conference centers womanist scholarship not merely as critique, but as prophetic leadership that shapes communal discernment and public… Sponsor: Harambee: HDS Students of African Descent. Contact: studentlife@hds.harvard.edu. Monday, April 13, 2026, 3:40 PM – 4:00 PM. James Room, Swartz Hall 120/122, 45 Francis Ave.

Holding Liat Screening and Discussion

Join the HDS Film Fest for a screening of the Oscar shortlisted film "Holding Liat" The film will be followed by a panel and discussion about the role of public media, religious literacy, and the emotional/political rifts in the film. Sponsor: HDS Film Fest. Contact: studentlife@hds.harvard.edu. Tuesday, April 14, 2026, 5:00 PM – 8:30 PM. Cader Room, Swartz Hall 117, 45 Francis Ave.

CANCELLED - Reading Group: Transcendentalism

This group meets on Wednesdays, 10-12 pm (1/28, 2/11, 3/4, 3/11, 3/25, 4/8) Registration is required. Please register to attend each session. American Transcendentalism emerged in the mid-1800s from New England Unitarianism and European Romanticism. It distinguished itself by rejecting convention, challenging traditional religious doctrines of authority and election, opposing dominant philosophies, discarding genteel literary styles, and defying political complacency regarding slavery, gender inequality, and disenfranchisement. At Harvard, Transcendentalists were seen as mystics, misfits, rogues, and dissidents. Their refusals, however, sparked a social movement based on friendship and collaboration, united by a radical spirituality promising personal renewal and social transformation.  This reading group invites participants to explore both sides of that legacy. We'll focus on Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Margaret Fuller in the fall, and on figures including Bronson Alcott, Theodore Parker,… Programming Series: Transcendence and Transformation. Sponsor: Center for the Study of World Religions. Contact: Laurie D. Sedgwick, CSWR Events Coordinator ldsedgwick@hds.harvard.edu. Wednesday, April 15, 2026, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM.

Deep Listening Workshop with Raveena

This is a Deep Listening workshop led by musical artist Raveena. The Deep Listening Workshop Series is funded by the Harvard Culture Lab Innovation Fund, and led by students Lia Pikus and Paula Ortiz. Sponsor: HDS SONAR & Harvard Culture Lab Innovation Fund. Contact: studentlife@hds.harvard.edu. Thursday, April 16, 2026, 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM. Williams Chapel, Swartz Hall 212, 45 Francis Ave.

Religious Trauma Symposium: Interdisciplinary Approaches Towards Healthy Religious Futures

Interdisciplinary Approaches Towards Healthy Religious Futures Religious trauma is a subject of mounting scholarly and popular attention with direct implications for the challenges of modernity. Yet despite academic and professional interest across fields, there has yet to be an event designed to bring these various circles into direct dialogue with one another. The Religious Trauma Symposium 2026 will bring together scholars, clinicians, policymakers, artists, and members of the public to critically and compassionately engage with the realities of religious trauma. While conversations about religious trauma are gaining traction in public spaces, academic research and professional practice have yet to fully shape the discourse. This symposium seeks to create a rigorous, interdisciplinary platform for dialogue, rooted in lived experience and dedicated to advancing both understanding and healing. Thursday, April 16, Opening Remarks , Premiere of Broken Covenant: Stories of Religious Trauma , Talkback with… Sponsor: student-initiated. Contact: studentlife@hds.harvard.edu. Thursday, April 16, 2026, 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM. James Room, Swartz Hall 120/122, 45 Francis Ave. For more info visit www.eventbrite.com.

Religious Trauma Symposium: Interdisciplinary Approaches Towards Healthy Religious Futures

Interdisciplinary Approaches Towards Healthy Religious Futures Religious trauma is a subject of mounting scholarly and popular attention with direct implications for the challenges of modernity. Yet despite academic and professional interest across fields, there has yet to be an event designed to bring these various circles into direct dialogue with one another. The Religious Trauma Symposium 2026 will bring together scholars, clinicians, policymakers, artists, and members of the public to critically and compassionately engage with the realities of religious trauma. While conversations about religious trauma are gaining traction in public spaces, academic research and professional practice have yet to fully shape the discourse. This symposium seeks to create a rigorous, interdisciplinary platform for dialogue, rooted in lived experience and dedicated to advancing both understanding and healing. Thursday, April 16, Opening Remarks , Premiere of Broken Covenant: Stories of Religious Trauma , Talkback with… Sponsor: student-initiated. Contact: studentlife@hds.harvard.edu. Friday, April 17, 2026, 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM. Cader Room, Swartz Hall 117, 45 Francis Ave. For more info visit www.eventbrite.com.

Sacred Fragments: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary Edition of Zalman Schachter-Shalomi’s Seminal Book on Jewish Renewal

In 1975, Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (1924-2014) published a volume entitled Sacred Fragments: Hasidism for the Aquarian Age. Although Schachter-Shalomi had been publishing and teaching since the early 1960s, Sacred Fragments was arguably his most programmatic statement of what would soon be called “Jewish Renewal,” a revolutionary and innovative re-assessment of Judaism, combining classical Hasidic theology, New Age religiosity, “deep ecumenicism,” and ritual innovation. The book appeared in two separate editions and served as an anchor for two generations of Jews, and non-Jews, seeking to integrate tradition with progressive aspects of the religious life. This event brings together three scholars who have been touched by Schachter-Shalomi’s renewal of Judaism. Speaker name(s) and title(s): Shaul Magid, professor of Modern Judaism in Residence, HDS, who wrote an Introductory Essay to the volume , Jericho Vincent, founding rabbi of the Temple of the Stranger, who wrote an Afterward to the volume , Or Rose,… Sponsor: Co-sponsored by Ayin Press. Contact: For more information, contact Matti Eldridge, meldridge@hds.harvard.edu. Monday, April 20, 2026, 5:15 PM – 6:30 PM. James Room. For more info visit harvard.az1.qualtrics.com.

The Ambiguity of the Vow: Law, Kinship, and Gender in Pathologizing the Jain Fast Until Death

Miki Chase, Visiting Assistant Professor of South Asian Religions In contemporary urban India, Jain laywomen comprise the majority of those who undertake sallekhanā or santhāra, the Jain fast until death. This project examines the everyday relational and ethical labor through which the fast is enacted within the domestic sphere, tracing how doctrinal ideals of asceticism are translated into embodied practice and how women’s ascetic agency is rendered both morally precarious and intelligible within kinship configurations and the evolving Indian legal and political landscape. Lunch provided. Sponsor: WSRP. Contact: Tracy Wall twall@hds.harvard.edu. Thursday, April 23, 2026, 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM. Braun Room.

Contesting World Christianity: Neotraditional Resurgences in Africa

Christianity has been present in Africa for over two millennia and recent statistics indicate that Africa is now home to the world’s largest Christian population. This talk examines some of the pockets of resistance to the expansion of Christianity in Africa, with particular attention to the resurgence of neotraditional forms. What is new in these developments, and what is at stake for world Christianity in Africa? Ludovic Lado is a Jesuit priest and associate professor of anthropology at CEFOD Business School in N'Djamena, Chad. He holds a doctorate in social and cultural anthropology from the University of Oxford (UK) and has previously taught at the Catholic University of Central Africa in Yaoundé (Cameroon) and the Jesuit University in Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire). His research focuses on the intersection of religion and society in Africa, with a particular emphasis on African Catholicism. He has edited two volumes on medical and religious pluralism in sub-Saharan Africa and is the author of The Politics of G… Sponsor: HDS Office of Academic Affairs. Contact: Kevin Chimo - <kchimo@hds.harvard.edu. Tuesday, April 28, 2026, 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM. CSWR Common Room.

Reading Group: Transcendentalism

This group meets on Wednesdays, 10-12 pm (1/28, 2/11, 3/4, 3/11, 3/25, 4/8) Registration is required. Please register to attend each session. American Transcendentalism emerged in the mid-1800s from New England Unitarianism and European Romanticism. It distinguished itself by rejecting convention, challenging traditional religious doctrines of authority and election, opposing dominant philosophies, discarding genteel literary styles, and defying political complacency regarding slavery, gender inequality, and disenfranchisement. At Harvard, Transcendentalists were seen as mystics, misfits, rogues, and dissidents. Their refusals, however, sparked a social movement based on friendship and collaboration, united by a radical spirituality promising personal renewal and social transformation.  This reading group invites participants to explore both sides of that legacy. We'll focus on Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Margaret Fuller in the fall, and on figures including Bronson Alcott, Theodore Parker,… Programming Series: Transcendence and Transformation. Sponsor: Center for the Study of World Religions. Contact: Laurie D. Sedgwick, CSWR Events Coordinator ldsedgwick@hds.harvard.edu. Wednesday, April 29, 2026, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM. Common Room, CSWR, 42 Francis Ave. Cambridge, MA 02138.

The Glorians: Visitations from the Holy Ordinary | Book Talk with Terry Tempest Williams

Please register to attend.Join us on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, from 4:30–6:00 p.m. in the Cader Room for The Glorians: Visitations from the Holy Ordinary, a conversation with HDS Writer-in-Residence Terry Tempest Williams and Stephanie Paulsell. Following brief opening remarks from Dean Marla Frederick, Terry will offer a short reading from The Glorians and then join Stephanie for an extended conversation about the work, followed by audience Q&A. Attendees are invited to order the book in advance from Back of Beyond Books. Please register here for this event. Sponsor: HDS Dean's Office. Contact: Steffanny Rosario - srosario@hds.harvard.edu. Wednesday, April 29, 2026, 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM. Cader Room. For more info visit harvard.az1.qualtrics.com.