Colloquium series looks at religion and public policy

The Joint Program on Religion and Public Life at the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at the Kennedy School of Government (KSG) is sponsoring a research colloquium series beginning Oct. 3. The series, which will run through Dec. 5, aims to discuss the work of leading scholars who address the interaction of religion and public policy in the United States. Sponsors of the colloquium hope to connect and encourage graduate students working on related topics, and to strengthen the links between institutional centers of activity devoted to research and practice in this area.

With the exception of the Nov. 14 session, which runs from 4 to 6 p.m. (in conference rooms A, B, and C of the Taubman Building at KSG), each Thursday seminar takes place from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in the Allison Dining Room of the Taubman Building. Buffet lunches will be available at 12:15 p.m.

The following schedule includes the date, speaker, and topic of each seminar.

Oct. 3: Jerome Baggett, Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, “Religious Restructuring, Market Resilience: The Ironic Case of Habitat for Humanity.”

Oct. 17: Archon Fung, KSG, “Bringing the Community Back In: Community Policing and School Governance in the Chicago Experience.”

Oct. 31: W. Wilson Goode Sr., Private/Public Ventures, “Amachi: Can It Rescue the Children of Incarcerated Parents?”

Nov. 14: Richard Wood, University of New Mexico, “Cultures of Organizing: Comparative Advantages of Religion and Race.”

Dec. 5: Fredrick Harris, University of Rochester, “Strategic Action Under Constraints or Narrow Self-Interest? The Civic Engagement of Black Ministers and Churches in Chicago.”

For any additional information, contact Margot Murphy at (617) 495-7721 or margot_murphy@harvard.edu.