The Pluralism Project at Harvard University

Senior Staff

Professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Studies, Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Director, The Pluralism Project

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Bio

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Articles and Talks

Curriculum Vitæ [PDF]

Research Director

Elinor began working for the Pluralism Project as a student field researcher in San Francisco; she was a section editor for the CD-ROM On Common Ground: World Religions in America and co-editor of World Religions in Boston: A Guide to Communities and Resources. She has been involved in "Religious Diversity News" since its inception in 1997. She developed the Women’s Networks Initiative, and was a content advisor for Acting on Faith: Women’s New Religious Activism in America. Elinor co-produced and co-directed the documentary film Fremont, U.S.A., together with Rachel Antell. She completed her B.A. in anthropology and international studies, with a core in religious studies, from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota (1988); she earned her Master of Theological Studies degree from the Harvard Divinity School (1996). Elinor currently leads the case study initiative.

Assistant Director

Whittney began her work with the Pluralism Project as a research associate for our Religious Diversity News in 2010 and continues to work on projects related to the interfaith infrastructure of the United States. In addition to studying religious pluralism academically, she has worked with several interfaith organizations including the Interfaith Youth Core, the Chautauqua Institution, and the Harvard Interfaith Collaborative. As assistant director, Whittney manages student research, manages our summer research programs, provides administrative and financial oversight, and participates in a number of local and national initiatives, conferences, and events on behalf of the Project. Whittney received her BA in comparative religion and American studies with a minor in political science from Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) in 2008. She earned a Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School (2011) where she completed a thesis project exploring the possibilities of integrating interfaith engagement and ecological awareness in response to the growing sense of "placelessness" in modern life.

Webmaster

Ryan received his Ph.D. in the Study of Religion from Harvard University in 2010 and his A.B. in Classics & Sanskrit and Religious Studies from Brown University in 2001. He has served as a web assistant and web developer for the Pluralism Project since 2006, and as a Postdoctoral Fellow in 2010–2011. In addition to updating the content for the Pluralism Project website, he has undertaken a major rewrite of the site’s underlying architecture, and developed the infrastructure for the new edition of World Religions in Greater Boston.

Research Intern

Research Intern

Amrita Dani is a junior at Harvard College. She is concentrating in History and Literature, with a focus on post-colonialism and Muslim communities. She is also pursuing a citation in Arabic and a secondary in social psychology. On campus, Amrita is involved with the Phillips Brooks House Association program, BRYE, through which she volunteers as an ESL enrichment teacher in Dorchester for children of recent immigrants. She also sings with the Harvard Radcliffe Collegium Musicum, a mixed chamber choir that performs master works and a cappella repertoire on campus.

Current Research Associates

Research Associate

Jaisy Joseph is a Master of Divinity student at Harvard Divinity School. Her main areas of academic interest are the history and theology of pre-colonial Christianities, particularly those that developed outside of direct Roman influence (Syriac, Coptic, and Greek). Jaisy is interested in how the migration of Eastern Christianities enriches and challenges notions of Christianity in the United States. She authored The Struggle for Identity Among Syro-Malabar Catholics, a text presently used in Sunday School classrooms to teach the emerging second generation of Syro-Malabar Catholics about their history. At the Pluralism Project, Jaisy has authored Needing Space, a case study that elaborates upon the engagement between Eastern and Roman Catholic Christianities in Greater Boston for our Case Study Initiative and our World Religions in Greater Boston resource.

Research Associate

Melissa is a Master of Theological Studies candidate at Harvard Divinity School, focusing on Islamic Studies. After graduating from Colgate University in May 2010 with a BA in Religion and South Asian Studies, she served as the Summer Intern at the Pluralism Project. She spent the past year teaching in Abu Dhabi. Her academic interests include understanding the ways in which and extent to which religious traditions affect culture and identity on a local and international scale. Melissa is excited to be working with the Pluralism Project again, this time as a Research Associate, offering administrative and research support to Dr. Diana Eck while contributing to various endeavors at the Project.

Research Associate

Joshua Whitson is a second year Master of Theological Studies candidate at Harvard Divinity School, focusing on East Asian Religious Studies. He received his BA in Religion with minors in Asian Studies, Diversity Studies, and Sociology from Baldwin-Wallace College. His academic work focuses on Chinese Buddhism and Daoism, and specifically the ways in which those religions have changed in the American context. As a Research Associate at the Pluralism Project, Josh will engage in research, writing, and tasks related to the technical support for the On Common Ground 2.0 project.

Research Associate

April Winebrenner-Palo completed her BA in Religion from Hamline University in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 2011. She is now pursuing her Masters in Theological Studies at Harvard Divinity School, focusing on Comparative Studies (with a particular interest in global myth and folklore). Outside the classroom, she has held leadership roles in interfaith campus and community organizing, youth leadership development, and service work - particularly with the Interfaith Youth Leadership Coalition and the Interfaith Youth Core. As a Research Associate, April will be collecting fieldwork and preparing written profiles on religious diversity and interfaith infrastructures in the United States.

Community Associate

Community Associate

Alex attended American University in Washington, DC and Millersville University of Pennsylvania for his BA in Cultural Anthropology. He holds a Master of Arts degree from Dartmouth College in Cultural Anthropology/Public Policy. His research interests include interfaith and intercultural dialogue, religious and cultural diversity in urban communities, immigration, and Latinos in higher education. His career has been in higher education, serving as Assistant Dean of Student Life in the Office of Pluralism and Leadership (OPAL) at Dartmouth College as an academic advisor, and a guest lecturer in the Departments of Religion and Sociology. He is engaged in Mennonite service programs and organizations in the United States.