The Global Politics and Religion Initiative (GPRI) at SAIS promotes the study of religion and international affairs.
Based in the school’s Global Theory and History Program, the GPRI is supported by a generous grant from the Henry Luce Foundation. The initiative has three main components that incorporate the study of the interaction between religion and politics into the school’s existing academic programs—new master’s degree courses, research seminars and executive education training sessions. GPRI’s goal is to foster an appreciation and deeper understanding of religion and international affairs among students, scholars and practitioners who will shape and influence future policymaking.
Charles Doran, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of International Relations, is co-directing the initiative with Leila Austin. Leila Austin is a professorial lecturer in the Global Theory and History and Middle East Studies programs and is deputy director of SAIS Cultural Conversations
"Religion and Diplomacy: the New Nexus in American Foreign Policy"
To view the full syllabus, learning goals and objectives, please click here.
Speakers/Panelists:
Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs, Maria Otero, SAIS ‘77, U.S. Department of State
Rabbi David Saperstein, Religious Action Center
Eric Patterson, Georgetown University
Maryann Cusimano Love, Catholic University
Qamar ul-Huda, United States Institute of Peace
Paul Miller, SAIS ‘87, Catholic Relief Services
Abed Ayoub, Islamic Relief
Susan Hayward, United States Institute of Peace
Claudia Zambra, World Faiths Development Dialogue
Dekila Chungyalpa, World Wildlife Fund
Leila Austin, SAIS '93, Global Politics and Religion Initiative, SAIS
Religion features prominently in many of the major foreign policy challenges facing the U.S. government, international development banks, humanitarian agencies and non-governmental organizations across sectors. Yet, most government officials and implementing partners still do not have the requisite tools or necessary understanding of the issues to factor religion into policy and practice in an appropriate manner. This course provides the kind of guidance that will make religion a more “comfortable” issue for practitioners and policy makers. The goal here is to move away from the existing narrow frameworks that approach religion as problematic or monolithic forces or marginalizing religion as a humanitarian or cultural issue, to one that can be positively and rationally engaged in democratic governance, conflict management and constructive development.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Welcome
Opening Remarks: Separation of Church and State? The First Amendment and U.S. Engagement with Religious Communities Abroad (Melissa Rogers, Wake Forest University and the Brookings Institution)
Session 1: Working with Communities of Faith in Conflict and Post-Conflict Scenarios: Challenges and Opportunities (Eric Patterson, Georgetown University; Maryann Cusimano Love, Catholic University; Qamar ul-Huda, United States Institute of Peace)
Case Study: Women Faith Leaders as Visionaries for Peace: the Cases of Guatemala, Iraq, and Sri Lanka (Susan Hayword, United States Institute of Peace)
Luncheon Speaker: Modern Religion and Public Policy: From Religious Institutions to the Social Realities of Everyday Religious
Practitioner’s Corner: The Link between Faith, Peace-building and Development (Rabbi David Saperstein, Religious Action Center)
Integration Session
Keynote: Communities of Faith as Partners and Vehicles for Change (Under Secretary Maria Otero, U.S. Department of State)
Session 2: Faith-Development Partnerships: Challenges and Opportunities
Policy Workshop: Religious Conviction and Environmental Protection: the Case of Climate Change and Wildlife Trade (Dekila Chungyalpa, World Wildlife Fund)
The complex role of religion on human interactions with the environment
Luncheon Speaker: A New Narrative in U.S.-Muslim World Relations
Policy Workshop: An Islamic Model of Conflict Resolution and Peace-building: Principles and Challenges (Qamar ul-Huda, United States Institute of Peace)
Integration Session
Faculty and Community Seminars
Fall 2012
Arjeev Bhargava, "Secularism in India"
Robert Jones, "The Role of Religion in the American Presidential Elections"
Brian Grim, "The Role of the State in Politicizing Religion"
Spring 2012
Nathan Brown, "The Muslim Brotherhood and Democracy in Egypt" Nathan Brown focused on three questions: (1) What is Muslim Brotherhood? (2) What's the system that the Brotherhood has been working in? and (3 What has happened since the revolution in Egypt. For a complete summary of Professor Brown's talk, please click here. Audio of the event is available here.
E.J. Dionne, "Religion and the American Elections" E.J. Dionne, author of Why Americans Hate Politics, provided seminar members with a historical overview of religion and American politics and provided his predictions about the role religion will play in the 2012 elections. For a full summary of Dr. Dionne's remarks, please click here. Audio of the event is available here.
Mark Juergensmeyer, "Religion and Secularism" According to Mark Juergensmeyer, even finding a proper word for a discussion about religion can be difficult in different parts of the world since religion is a relatively new word, which doesn't have a lot of meaning outside of the West. To read a summary Professor Juergensmeyer's presentation, please click here. Audio of the event is available here.
Charles Doran, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of International Relations
Leila Austin, Professorial Lecturer, Global Theory and History & Middle East Studies and Deputy Director, SAIS Cultural Conversations
Film Discussion: "Arranged" centers on the friendship between an Orthodox Jewish woman and a Muslim woman who meet as first-year teachers at a public school in Brooklyn.
Please note that the information above is subject to change. Continue to visit this Web site for additional updates and information.