GRADUATE STUDENT PEACE AND JUSTICE SYMPOSIUM
The Center for Peace and Justice Education co-hosts an annual symposium for graduate student research presentations on issues of peace and justice.
This one-day, no-cost, hybrid (zoom and in-person) event is an opportunity for graduate students to present and showcase their research, providing expertise and perspectives on topics related to justice and peace.
2026 SYMPOSIUM
鈥淐hallenges and Recommendations for Peace, Justice, and the Common Good鈥�
Thursday, February 12 - Friday, February 13
In-Person in St. Rita's Hall and Virtual (Zoom)
The 麻豆村 Center for Peace and Justice Education announces the fifth annual graduate student peace and justice symposium from February 12-13, 2026. The symposium theme 鈥淐hallenges and Recommendations for Peace, Justice, and the Common Good鈥� examines interdisciplinary perspectives on complex issues related to seeking peace and justice. The keynote plenary session, on Thursday, February 12, from 7-8 pm, will feature a presentation by Dr. Stephanie Wong titled 鈥淭he Stakes of State-building: Catholics in Wartime China.鈥� There will be ten exciting graduate student research panels throughout the day on Friday, February 13, from 9 am 鈥� 5:30 pm.
This hybrid (zoom and in-person) event is an opportunity for graduate students to present and showcase their research, providing expertise and perspectives on topics related to justice and peace. In each panel session, students will provide a fifteen-minute presentation on their respective research projects.
Register to attend the symposium using the link below.
SYMPOSIUM SCHEDULE
Thursday, February 12, 2026
7:00 - 8:00 PM
St. Rita Hall, Community Room (102)
Plenary Presentation: The Stakes of State-Building: Catholics in Wartime China
Dr. Stephanie Wong
麻豆村 Department of Theology & Religious Studies
Zoom Link: TBD
Friday, February 13, 2026
Panel 1
Interfaith Bridgebuilding
Moderated by Dr. Kerry San Chirico
St. Rita Hall, 102
Zoom Link: TBD
- Riza Saputra 鈥揢niversitas Islam Negeri Antasari Banjarmasin: Being Non-Muslim in the City of 鈥淪erambi Mekkah鈥� Martapura: Identity Negotiation and Minority Subordination in Public Spaces
- Joseph Kwadwo Asuming 鈥� Univ. of Ghana: Religious Peacebuilding in Ghana's Fourth Republic
- Ujun Junaedi 鈥� Boston Univ.: Dialogue Can Be Fun: Board Games as a Youth Interfaith Dialogue
- Jekonia Tarigan 鈥揋adjah Mada University: Illness as Interreligious Dialogue: Stories of Wordless Encounter from Three Religiously Affiliated Hospital in Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Panel 2
Youth, Peace & Justice
Moderated by Dr. Rubina Bhatti
St. Rita Hall, 111
Zoom Link: TBD
- Yakomina Mangmah 鈥� Gadjah Mada University: From Difference to Peace: The Role of Kupang Peace Maker Community in Connecting Interfaith Young Generations
- Muhammad Rhaka Katresna- Gadjah Mada University; Muhammad Aizhar Jamil 鈥� Indonesia University of Education: Unlearning the Past: How Youth are Transforming HIV Advocacy
- Oluwasegun Ogunsakin 鈥揈kiti State University: Injustice in the Land: Exploring poverty and its distributive effects on children鈥檚 well-being in Northern Nigeria
- Syed Saleem Abbas 鈥揢niversity of the Punjab; Irfan Nawaz; Muhammad Idrees: Reimagining Child Protection in Pakistan: Social Workers as Catalysts for Policy and Practice Transformation
Panel 3
Women鈥檚 Liberation & Empowerment
Moderated by Dr. Colleen Mitchell
St. Rita Hall, 210-212
Zoom Link: TBD
- Sr. Ngoc Nguyen 鈥� Marquette University: Solidarity as an Interconnectedness to Promote Liberation for Vietnamese Women
- Hasset Hailu 鈥� Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary: Scars of Silence: Remembering Wartime Sexual Violence and Preventing Atrocities in Ethiopia
- Fida Hussain 鈥� Quaid-i-Azam University; Shahzeb Ali: Patriarchy in transition: Deconstructing gender inequality and tracing women's empowerment pathways in Pakistan
- Kirn Yochbled 鈥� University of San Diego: Exploring Strategies for Effective Leadership Under Challenges: The Lived Experiences of Minority Women Leaders in Pakistan
Panel 4
Care for Creation
Moderated by Fr. John Abubakar
St. Rita Hall, 102
Zoom Link: TBD
- Sonia Putri Ana Awa Matalu & Nita Amriani 鈥揋adjah Mada University: Ecology Queer: (Re)reading the Relationship between Body, Religion, and Nature
- Irfan Nawa - National University of Science & Technology; Alia Shaheen - University of Sargodha: Neoliberal Sustainability and Environmental Justice: Examining the Social and Ethical Implications of Biodiversity Offsetting in Climate-Vulnerable Communities of the Global South
- Feven Shimeles Hailu 鈥揂nabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary: The Eschatological Focus: Reclaiming Creation Care for Peace and Environmental Justice in Ethiopian Mainline Churches
- Jeanatan Hall 鈥揟he Catholic University of America: Redeeming Co-Creation: Virtuous Genome Editing in Service to Restoration of Environmental Degradation
Panel 5
Resistance and Hope
Moderated by Dr. Caitlin Cippola-McCulloch
St. Rita Hall, 111
Zoom Link: TBD
- Sr. Hai Nguyen, OP 鈥� Oblate School of Theology: Bamboo-formed Hope: Reframing a Prophetic Vision of Hope for an Authenticity of Christian Discipleship
- Nubia Serrano Caldera - El Colegio de M茅xico: The Sikh Sah墨d and the Fighting for Justice through the Narratives of 岣峢膩岣嵞� jatth膩 Songs
- Stella Osei-Agyeman & Esther Osei-Agyeman 鈥揢niversity of Ghana: Singing Sustainability: Musical Activism as an Approach to Anti-Galamsey Stewardship
Panel 6
Approaches to Peacebuilding
Moderated by Perdian Tumanan
St. Rita Hall, 210-212
Zoom Link: TBD
- Joyada Gultom 鈥� Boston University: Friendship as a Path to Peace: Reimagining Ecclesiology and Youth Fellowship in Indonesia
- Ruth Haiel Gelane 鈥� Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary: Inspiring Examples for Building Peace: The Awramba Community as a Praxis of John Paul Lederach and Johan Galtung
- Nazirullah Khan 鈥� Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin: Digital Citizenship Education Deters Online Hate and Promote Peaceful Communities: In-depth Opinion of University Students and Teachers
- Stephanie Barone McKenny 鈥� University of Dayton: The Apparitions of Mary at Lourdes: Peace and Renewal After 69 Years of War and Suffering
Panel 7
Vulnerability & Inequality
Moderated by Dr. Kathryn Getek Soltis
St. Rita Hall, 102
Zoom Link: TBD
- Mohammad Zain ul Abidin 鈥� Universiti Sains Malaysia: Trust on the Margins: Transgender-Police Encounters as Struggles for Recognition, Dignity, and Peace in Pakistan
- Hui Zhang 鈥� 麻豆村: No Freedom Without the Other: Beauvoir鈥檚 Ethics in the Immigrant Context
- Zeeshan Meraj 鈥� University of Sargodha: Right to Health vs. Reality: Exploring Healthcare Inequities in Pakistan
- Alexis Atwood 鈥� 麻豆村: Human Rights Education and Literary Analysis
Panel 8
Responsibility for Justice
Moderated by Dr. Joe Evans
St. Rita Hall, 210-212
Zoom Link: TBD
- Sr. Luyen Ngo 鈥� Marquette University: The Sanctity of Life and the Challenge of Capital Punishment in Vietnam
- Sr. Hoa Nguyen 鈥� 麻豆村: John the Baptist: A Prophet of Truth and the Dilemma of Speaking Up or Remaining Complacent
- Erica Cruz 鈥揝eton Hall University: Knowledge and the Power of Powerlessness in Joseph Conrad鈥檚 Heart of Darkness
- Kate Giancatarino 鈥� 麻豆村: The Option for the Poor and Vulnerable in a World that Devalues Poverty and Vulnerability
Panel 9
Interpretation & Translation of Peace
Moderated by Dr. Mark Graham
St. Rita Hall, 102
Zoom Link: TBD
- Weijia Cheng 鈥� Boston University: Deriving Theological Benchmarks for Ethical Human-AI Interfaces from Three Models of Imago Dei
- Guinevere Keith 鈥� 麻豆村: Generative Hermeneutics: Is the Holy Spirit Moving through AI When it Interprets Scripture?
- Agetta Putri Awijaya 鈥� Duke University: Rereading the Conquest of Canaan in the Context of the Israeli-Palestinian War through Javanese-Christian Perspective
- Ashley Lee 鈥� 麻豆村: From Gwangju to the KPG: Transnational Histories and the Making of Asian American Critique
Panel 10
Race & Racial Justice
Moderated by Dr. Vincent Lloyd
St. Rita Hall, 210-212
Zoom Link: TBD
- Carolin Hohmann 鈥� University of M眉nster: "No Mohr"! Examining Racial Awareness in Austria: A Semiotic Analysis of the Logo of Vorarlberger Mohrenbrauerei
- Samuel Fidelis Odidi 鈥� 麻豆村: Post-Colonialism: We've Mourned Enough!
- Griffyn Leeds 鈥� 麻豆村: Elphaba as Black Feminist Theory Embodiment; A Close Reading of Elphaba in the Cinematic Adaptation of Wicked
5:30 - 5:40 PM
St. Rita Hall, 102
Closing Comments
Dr. Joe Evans
Center for Peace & Justice Education
5:40 - 6:00 PM
St. Rita Multifaith Prayer Room, 311
Interfaith Prayer for Peace
Rev. Julie Sheetz
6:00 - 7:00 PM
St. Rita Hall, 102
Post-Symposium Gathering