CURA Fellows Program

Each year, CURA’s Religion and World Affairs Fellowship program brings together an interdisciplinary community of Boston-area graduate students and faculty. Selected fellows participate in bimonthly colloquium sessions to workshop papers. The colloquium sessions are open to the general public; all attendees are expected to read the papers in advance, and the sessions focus on providing feedback and suggestions to the authors. Fellows also participate in events with visiting scholars. Scholars from diverse disciplines and methodological and regional specialties are encouraged to apply. Past fellows have come from anthropology, international relations, political science, religion, sociology, theology, and other area institutions including Boston College, Harvard, MIT, and Northeastern University.

CURA 2026–2027 Fellowship Program: “Heretics Everywhere”

CURA invites applications from Boston-area faculty and graduate students to serve as Religion and World Affairs Fellows for the 2026–2027 academic year. Selected fellows participate in bimonthly colloquium sessions to workshop papers. The colloquium sessions are open to the general public; all attendees are expected to read the papers in advance, and the sessions will focus on providing feedback and suggestions to the authors. Fellows will also participate in events with visiting scholars. Planned visitors include Aala Abdelgadir (Political Science, University of Pittsburgh), Grace Davie (Sociology, University of Exeter), Philip Gorski (Religious Studies and Sociology, Yale University), Elizabeth Shakman Hurd (Religious Studies and Political Science, Northwestern University), Murad Idris (Political Theory, University of Michigan), and Shaul Magid (Jewish Studies, Harvard University), among others.

CURA’s theme for 2026–2027, “Heretics Everywhere,” examines how dissenting actors contest, sustain, or transform social orders. Heretics are people who, by choice or exclusion, hold opinions that differ from accepted beliefs. In an era of populism and polarization, nationalism and anti-nationalism, we ask how challengers to established doctrines reshape traditions, institutions, and social order. What does it mean to be a heretic now? What is the role of the heretic in building new traditions amid the decline of established beliefs?

CURA invites comparative, historical, and theoretical work on the mechanisms through which heretical claims unsettle authority, open space for new traditions, or become incorporated into existing orders. We seek proposals that investigate how heterodox ideas, marginalized actors, and practices of exclusion influence norms, institutions, and international relations. Topics might include historical cases of doctrinal rupture, contemporary movements challenging orthodoxies, the diffusion of heretical ideas across borders, or theoretical accounts of how heresy produces or is absorbed by order. This yearlong conversation will bring together an interdisciplinary community of scholars of religion.

Apply Here

Application Deadline: May 11, 2026

Eligibility Requirements

  • Applicants must be in the Boston area for the 2026-2027 academic year.
  • To apply, submit:
    • A one-paragraph description of your proposed paper topic
    • Your CV
    • PhD students must also submit a PDF of an email from your primary advisor approving participation in the yearlong CURA Fellows program

Expectations of Participation

  • Fellows will be asked to prepare a working paper of 6,000–8,000 words to be scheduled for presentation as part of the CURA Colloquium.
  • Colloquium sessions will be held on Fridays, 12:00–1:30 p.m.
  • Fellows are expected to attend all colloquium sessions, read papers in advance, and provide feedback for other participants.
  • Papers will be submitted to the CURA Assistant Director one week in advance of their scheduled discussion.

Support & Benefits

  • $1,000 stipend ($500 to be paid at the end of each semester)
  • $1,000 toward research support
  • Mentoring and access to CURA research and travel grants for the duration of their careers
  • Invitations to events and speakers.

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