RCPI Internal Report Summary

RCPI Fellows group shot 2021-22

Cultural Activism across Borders: Growing an International Network

The Religion, Conflict, and Peace Initiative (RCPI) strengthened global networks this year, hosting 15 webinars and co-sponsoring three additional events on diverse topics related to the focal case study of Israel/Palestine. Engaging 10 resident and nonresident fellows in weekly convenings, the program hosted a series of nine public events from February through April 2022. Participants tuned into live sessions from over 40 countries.

With the relaunch, via HarvardX, of the Massive Online Open Course Religion, Conflict, and Peace, RCPI Fellows also provided six new video interviews in an expanded section on the hermeneutics of citizenship and cultural activism.

In its academic offerings, RCPI transformed the traditional January (J-Term) course, Learning in Context: Narratives of Displacement and Belonging in Israel/Palestine, into a spring semester–long interdisciplinary field study seminar open to all Harvard graduate students. By experiencing the case study of Israel/Palestine through the RCPI teaching method, students gain deep knowledge of the context, as well as develop skills in conflict transformation that is applicable in other contexts.

The course attracted 48 student applicants from seven different schools at Harvard. After a rigorous selection process, 18 students were selected from six Harvard schools (Divinity School, Kennedy School, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, School of Education, School of Design, and Law School).

The interdisciplinary group traveled to the region for immersive learning, June 7–20, 2022. Eight students will stay in the region for internships that include the following sites:

  • United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Jerusalem
  • Just Vision, Jerusalem
  • Badil Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, Bethlehem
  • The Carter Center, Israel/Palestine office, Ramallah
  • The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, Jerusalem
  • American Friends Service Committee, Jerusalem
  • Ruwwad Jordan, Amman

“I was struck by the variety and manner of the usage of moral imagination in this session to promote cultural activism. The videos in particular gave such rich insight into the passionate work that people are doing to ‘imagine different sorts of worlds for our communities.’ Whether it be through creative arts displayed in numerous methods from music to comedy to even the art and science of agriculture, it was amazing to see such examples of how ‘unique the human experience is when related through creative culture.’”

—Online student in Religion, Conflict, and Peace MOOC

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