From June through August 2026, CURA travel grantee Syeda Rumana Mehdi accompanied hundreds of people on pilgrimages to Karbala, Iraq, marking the beginning of her dissertation fieldwork. The pilgrimages commemorated Ashura, the anniversary of Imam Hussain’s martyrdom in 680 CE, and Arbaeen, the fortieth day of mourning that includes an 80-kilometer walk from Najaf to […]
With support from a CURA Travel Grant, Ofir Tenenbaum conducted three months of preliminary ethnographic fieldwork in Berlin, Germany, from May through August 2026. The research explores migration, identity, and belonging among Jewish Israelis living in Berlin, with particular attention to how recent political developments have shaped their experiences in the city. During the summer, […]
Undergraduate Research Fellow, Jewish Internationalism book project ($1,500, AY 2026–27). Prof. Jeremy Menchik (Pardee/CURA) seeks a BU undergraduate to help catalog and research an archive of ~1,800 documents on Jewish socialist, labor, and diasporic movements from the 1890s to the present, for a book on Jewish alternatives to Zionism. Detail-oriented students from any major welcome; […]
Former CURA Fellow Candace Lukasik traveled to Upper Egypt to conduct ethnographic research with Coptic Christian communities. Her fieldwork explores how news of U.S. immigration enforcement, including detention, deportation, and changing asylum policies, is reshaping local understandings of migration and opportunity. During the trip, Lukasik conducted interviews across several communities, gaining valuable insight into the […]
With support from a CURA Travel Grant, Boston University PhD student Aixin Yi (GRS’28) traveled to Vancouver in March to present her research at the 2026 Annual Meeting of the Association for Asian Studies (AAS), the largest international conference in the field. Yi co-organized the panel “What Can Christianity Do in a World at War?”, […]
Professor Nicolette Manglos-Weber is the author of the forthcoming book Sacred Economies: Christianity, Islam, and Community Care in Uganda. This timely work explores how religious communities in Uganda mobilize care, resources, and social support across Christian and Muslim contexts, offering important insights into the intersections of faith, economics, and community life. Advance copies are now […]
Couldn’t make the 2026 Conference of the Jewish Left? We have free, publicly-available recordings of the following sessions on our Youtube channel: Welcoming Remarks Delivered by CURA Director Jeremy Menchik and Pardee School Dean Scott Taylor. “Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza” Author and journalist Peter Beinart’s discusses his book, with Professor of History […]
The BU Race, Prison, Justice Arts and BU Prison Outreach Initiative recently launched the first installment of their three-part speaker series featuring currently and formerly incarcerated guests. Titled Songs of Refusal: Storytelling Against the Afterlives of Slavery, the event took place on March 19 at the BU College of Fine Arts and was co-sponsored by […]
Join us on Monday, April 27th for a ritual in healing. In a time of violence, displacement, and profound human suffering, this workshop offers a communal space for mourning, tenderness, and solidarity. It will be led by André de Quadros, Professor of Music at the Boston University College of Fine Arts. Participants are invited to […]
Professor Dana L. Robert is a co-editor of the newly released volume Connecting Christianities: World Christianity and Mission in the Twenty-First Century (Brill, 2026), alongside Muthuraj Swamy and Jenny Leith. This important collection brings together global perspectives on World Christianity and contemporary mission, exploring how Christian communities are shaped by transnational connections, cultural exchange, and […]