Last day of spring classes
Last day of spring classes.
Wednesday, April 30, 2025.
Reading Group: Psychedelics & Aesthetics
Registration is required.
How do psychedelic experiences influence the perception of art and beauty? What role does aesthetics play in psychedelic experiences, and how does it impact ethical considerations?
This biweekly reading and learning group led by CSWR Student Research Assistant Tristan Angieri, MDiv ‘26, will explore these questions and more, focusing on the relationship between psychedelics, aesthetics, and ethics. Participants will examine psychedelic practices in various contexts, including clinical, underground, indigenous, and other cultural settings. Topics will include the aesthetics of psychedelic experiences, the role of the ludic and creativity in psychedelic experiences, and the influence of religion, spirituality, and culture on taste-making in psychedelics.
Each session will focus on one or more specific psychedelic substances and companion works of art/media or practices, using diverse readings for analysis. Participants will engage in text-based discussions and optional experient…
Programming Series: Psychedelics and the Future of Religion. Spirituality and Psychedelics. Psychedelics and Ethics. Transcendence and Transformation. Contact: Laurie D. Sedgwick, CSWR Events Coordinator
ldsedgwick@hds.harvard.edu.
Wednesday, April 30, 2025, 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM.
Conference Room, Center for the Study of World Religions, 42 Francis Ave. Cambridge, MA.
Spring reading period begins
Spring reading period begins.
Thursday, May 1, 2025.
Virtual Panel: The Case for Dalit Reparations
Generations of upper-caste economic, social, and political capital continue to be built on the mass exploitation of Dalit labor, livelihood, and life force. How can Indian society address these millenia-old open wounds of Dalit communities, who constitute nearly 25% of India’s population? Join HDS Ganga, HDS Burning Refuge Collective, and HKS Casteless Caucus for a virtual discussion with Dr. Amit Thorat from Jawaharlal Nehru University, and Dr. Santosh Raut from Harvard Divinity School, on the economic, political, and spiritual potentials for Dalit reparations. Zoom registration required: bit.ly/hdsdalitreparations2025.
Contact: studentlife@hds.harvard.edu.
Thursday, May 1, 2025, 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM.
Online via Zoom (registration required).
For more info visit harvard.zoom.us. Launching Peripheries Volume 7: A Reading and Celebration
Registration is required.
Please register to attend in person.
Please register to attend on Zoom.
Join us in celebrating the launch of the seventh edition of Peripheries: A Journal of Word, Image, and Sound, published at the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard Divinity School.
Inspired by the idea that poetry, like a room, is a curated space to contain and contemplate memories on the threshold of forgetting, this year’s edition builds a series of folios like an enfilade—six adjacent rooms—each with its own atmosphere, architecture, and archive. The collection passes through spaces both sacred and imperiled, sheltered and displaced. The journal opens its doors to diverse voices and forms, including experimental non-fiction poetry, visual scores, archived songs and photographs, paintings, and translations from Arabic, Chinese, Polish, and Yiddish. Emerging artists make their debut alongside some of the best American writers.
To launch the journal, we are honored to present readings…
Programming Series: Poetry. Contact: Laurie D. Sedgwick, CSWR Events Coordinator
ldsedgwick@hds.harvard.edu.
Thursday, May 1, 2025, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM.
110 Thompson Room, Barker Center
12 Quincy St. Cambridge, MA.
For more info visit cswr.hds.harvard.edu. Language Qualifying Examinations
Language qualifying examinations. Exams offered in French, Arabic, German, Spanish, Christian Latin, Biblical Hebrew, and New Testament Greek. Location will be announced prior to exam date. Students are allowed to bring one dictionary for each language examaniation taken. All examinations are one hour in length.
Friday, May 2, 2025.
Spring reading period ends
Spring reading period ends.
Wednesday, May 7, 2025.
Spring semester final course examinations begin
Spring semester final course examinations begin.
Thursday, May 8, 2025.
Bound ThM papers due in the Registrar’s Office
Bound ThM papers due in the Registrar’s Office.
Friday, May 9, 2025.
MDiv Senior Papers are due via the online submission process
MDiv Senior Papers are due via the online submission process.
Friday, May 9, 2025.
For Our Common Home: Resounding Ecojustice, An Oratorio
The Harvard-Radcliffe Chorus (HRC), one of Harvard’s Holden Choruses, performs For Our Common Home: Resounding Ecojustice on Saturday, May 10 at Sanders Theatre on the University campus. The 8:00pm program will be conducted by HRC’s music director, Edward Elwyn Jones, Gund University Organist and Choirmaster at The Memorial Church, Harvard University. Although earlier versions of the work have been presented and recorded, HRC’s performance marks the premiere of the full score as revised by the composer in 2025. In addition to the 120-voice mixed choir, For Our Common Home features solo vocalists and instrumentalists Farayi Makek, J’adon Brooks, Heiraza, and Abigale Reisman with jazz artists Stan Strickland, John McGee, Dave Clark and George Lernis.
Composer/flutist Linda J. Chase teaches Ecomusicology and Music, Spirit & Transformation at Berklee College of Music, and Interdisciplinary Improvisation at New England Conservatory. Her oratorio was inspired by Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical, Laudato Si’ a call…
Contact: Olivia Porada, Administrative Manager for Choral Music, oporada@fas.harvard.edu.
Saturday, May 10, 2025, 8:00 PM – 10:00 PM.
Sanders Theatre.
For more info visit boxoffice.harvard.edu. Submission of grades for May degree candidates enrolled in Harvard Divinity School courses. Last day to file an Incomplete Grade Agreement for a spring semester course.
Submission of grades for May degree candidates enrolled in Harvard Divinity School courses. Last day to file an Incomplete Grade Agreement for a spring semester course. (Forms are available in the Registrar’s Office.).
Monday, May 12, 2025.
Sacred Plant Medicines and Indigenous Communities: A Symposium with the CSWR's Psychedelics and Spirituality Postdoctoral Fellows
This event is free and open to the public.
Registration is required.
Light dinner will be provided for those attending in person.
Please register to attend in person.
Please register to attend on Zoom.
Indigenous communities worldwide have held knowledge of sacred plants for thousands of years. Far from monolithic, these communities have diverse theologies, ritual practices, and community approaches. Moreover, Indigenous communities are evolving with globalization and representing critical perspectives in the contemporary understanding of the plants, fungi, and substances often referred to as psychedelic.
For the past year, the CSWR has been fortunate to have two postdoctoral fellows, Osiris González Romero and Andrea Sánchez-Castañeda, working at the forefront of psychedelics and Indigenous knowledge. In this capstone event, Osiris will share findings from his research on Indigenous Medicine and psilocybin mushroom rituals in Mesoamerica, and Andrea will share her research on sacred plant medicines of…
Programming Series: Psychedelics and the Future of Religion. Spirituality and Psychedelics. Transcendence and Transformation. Contact: Laurie D. Sedgwick, CSWR Events Coordinator
ldsedgwick@hds.harvard.edu.
Monday, May 12, 2025, 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM.
Common Room, CSWR, 42 Francis Ave. Cambridge, MA.
For more info visit cswr.hds.harvard.edu. Thinking with Plants and Fungi Conference: An Interdisciplinary Exploration into the Mind of Nature
Registration is required.
Please visit the conference website for registration information.
The Center for the Study of World Religions (CSWR) at Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is excited to announce “Thinking with Plants and Fungi: An Interdisciplinary Exploration into the Mind of Nature,” a three-day conference held at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
This conference convenes scholars from across the sciences, humanities, and social sciences with artists, culture keepers, activists, and practitioners to explore how plants and fungi help us rethink the nature of mind and matter and humans’ relationship to the more-than-human world. How might plants and fungi invite us to reimagine cooperation, flourishing, and co-existence amidst ongoing ecological and social crises?
The conference will consist of keynote presentations and panel discussions. Confirmed speakers include Merlin Sheldrake, Giuliana Furci, Emanuele Coccia, Banu Subramanian, Jessica J. Lee, Zoë Schlanger, Monica Gagliano,…
Programming Series: Thinking with Plants and Fungi. Contact: Laurie D. Sedgwick, CSWR Events Coordinator
ldsedgwick@hds.harvard.edu.
Thursday, May 15, 2025, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM.
James Room, Swartz Hall, 45 Francis Ave. & Zoom.
For more info visit cswr.hds.harvard.edu. Thinking with Plants and Fungi Conference: An Interdisciplinary Exploration into the Mind of Nature
Registration is required.
Please visit the conference website for registration information.
The Center for the Study of World Religions (CSWR) at Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is excited to announce “Thinking with Plants and Fungi: An Interdisciplinary Exploration into the Mind of Nature,” a three-day conference held at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
This conference convenes scholars from across the sciences, humanities, and social sciences with artists, culture keepers, activists, and practitioners to explore how plants and fungi help us rethink the nature of mind and matter and humans’ relationship to the more-than-human world. How might plants and fungi invite us to reimagine cooperation, flourishing, and co-existence amidst ongoing ecological and social crises?
The conference will consist of keynote presentations and panel discussions. Confirmed speakers include Merlin Sheldrake, Giuliana Furci, Emanuele Coccia, Banu Subramanian, Jessica J. Lee, Zoë Schlanger, Monica Gagliano,…
Programming Series: Thinking with Plants and Fungi. Contact: Laurie D. Sedgwick, CSWR Events Coordinator
ldsedgwick@hds.harvard.edu.
Friday, May 16, 2025, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM.
James Room, Swartz Hall, 45 Francis Ave. & Zoom.
For more info visit cswr.hds.harvard.edu. Spring semester final course examinations end
Spring semester final course examinations end.
Saturday, May 17, 2025.
Thinking with Plants and Fungi Conference: An Interdisciplinary Exploration into the Mind of Nature
Registration is required.
Please visit the conference website for registration information.
The Center for the Study of World Religions (CSWR) at Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is excited to announce “Thinking with Plants and Fungi: An Interdisciplinary Exploration into the Mind of Nature,” a three-day conference held at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
This conference convenes scholars from across the sciences, humanities, and social sciences with artists, culture keepers, activists, and practitioners to explore how plants and fungi help us rethink the nature of mind and matter and humans’ relationship to the more-than-human world. How might plants and fungi invite us to reimagine cooperation, flourishing, and co-existence amidst ongoing ecological and social crises?
The conference will consist of keynote presentations and panel discussions. Confirmed speakers include Merlin Sheldrake, Giuliana Furci, Emanuele Coccia, Banu Subramanian, Jessica J. Lee, Zoë Schlanger, Monica Gagliano,…
Programming Series: Thinking with Plants and Fungi. Contact: Laurie D. Sedgwick, CSWR Events Coordinator
ldsedgwick@hds.harvard.edu.
Saturday, May 17, 2025, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM.
James Room, Swartz Hall, 45 Francis Ave. & Zoom.
For more info visit cswr.hds.harvard.edu. Memorial Day: University Holiday
Memorial Day: University Holiday.
Monday, May 26, 2025.
Multireligious Commencement Service
Multireligious Commencement Service.
Wednesday, May 28, 2025.
Commencement
Commencement.
Thursday, May 29, 2025.
TBA.
Grades due in the Registrar’s office from HDS instructors for spring semester courses
Grades due in the Registrar’s office from HDS instructors for spring semester courses.
Friday, May 30, 2025.
Insight Into Mindfulness: Buddhist Literacy for Mental Health and Wellness Professionals
Apply here by May 7: https://harvard.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bkLqNSii2qadmYu
This two-and-a-half-day in-person workshop teaches clinical mental health and wellness professionals how to use resources derived from Buddhist ideas, techniques, and traditions to address mental health issues. Offered by the faculty and alumni of Harvard Divinity School and led by deeply experienced Buddhist lay and monastic instructors, the program blends guided meditation sessions with readings, lectures, and in-depth discussions of applicable Buddhist knowledge and practice. Mental healthcare practitioners with mindfulness experience or interest in integrating mindfulness into their work are welcome. The program seeks applicants from a wide range of backgrounds and roles, including those both inside and outside traditional counseling centers, and strives to foster a safe, open, and welcoming learning environment for all.
Contact: Jonathan Makransky (jmakransky@hds.harvard.edu).
Monday, June 16, 2025 – Wednesday, June 18, 2025.
Harvard Divinity School.
For more info visit www.hds.harvard.edu. Summer Language Program begins
Summer Language Program begins.
Monday, June 16, 2025.
Juneteenth: University holiday
Juneteenth: University holiday.
Thursday, June 19, 2025.
Independence Day: University holiday
Independence Day: University holiday.
Friday, July 4, 2025.