News

Ely Orrego Torres: Transnational Religio-Spiritual Networks

Author: Rebekah Go

A picture of a woman with long dark hair, glasses, and a blue shirt with flowered overlay. The woman is standing with her hand resting on a sill.

"In my dissertation, I studied the politics of religious freedom and secularism in the Americas between 2017 and 2023. I focus particularly on transnational and regional networks that I call “Transnational Religio-spiritual Networks (TRSNs)”. In particular, I research these networks in one venue, which is an international organization, the Organization of American States, the OAS.

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From colonial history to modern borders: rethinking the global impact of migrants and mobility

Author: Megan Vogt

A young woman with brown hair pulled back smiles brightly, wearing a black and white striped shirt. She stands on wet pavement in front of the grand U.S. Capitol Building with its many columns and windows.

Megan Vogt is a senior double major in political science and history who is deeply interested in the intersection of these two fields. In the fall she took a course on migrants and mobility, taught by Keough School professor Rose Luminiello, a faculty affiliate of the school's Ansari Institute for Global Engagement with Religion. Initially she imagined something technical, perhaps focused on maps, geography and historical migration patterns. Instead, Megan writes that the class turned into a "deeply human exploration" of how human movement has served as a defining force in global history.

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Jacob Katumusiime: How do we explain the violence of some religious movements?

Author: Rebekah Go

Dr. Jacob Katumusiime is Ansai Institute Global Fellow and a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Johannesburg. Jacob is the 2024 Winner of the Rahamon Bello Award for the Best PhD in African and Diaspora Studies. He researches on the intersections of Culture and Politics, navigating questions…

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Jethro Calacday: U.S. empire facilitated by the Catholic Church

Author: Rebekah Go

Image of a southeast Asian man holding a book and standing in front of a staircase. He is wearing a mock turtle neck, blazer, and glasses.

Dr. Jethro A. E. A. Calacday is an Ansari Institute Global Fellow and a scholar of global history whose research explores the entanglement of religion and empire in the making of the modern world. He works on the histories of the US in the World, the Philippines, Papal diplomacy, global Catholicism,…

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Ansari Institute Launches Global Fellows program

Author: Rebekah Go

A picture with a grid of 6 headshots. The top row features three men. The top left photo is a man from the Philippines. The top middle is a man from the UK. The top right is a man from Uganda.
The bottom left is a man from India. The bottom middle is a women from Egypt. The bottom right is a woman from Chile.

The Ansari Institute for Global Engagement with Religion is pleased to announce the launch of its inaugural class of Global Fellows. Six holders of newly minted PhDs are participating in a year-long process of transforming their dissertations into monographs, by subjecting their manuscripts-in-progress to the constructive criticism of their peers and senior colleagues in the study of “religion and global politics,” broadly considered. For the majority of the 2025-’26 academic year, they work from their current locations around the world and gather virtually on a regular basis. They will meet in person for a culminating conference at year’s end.

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Exploring ethical AI: Scholar advocates for inclusive, community-centered design 

Author: Josh Stowe

Mohammad Rashidujjaman Rifat, an expdrt on ethical AI and human-computer interaction at the University of Notre Dame, is pictured.

As a researcher, Mohammad Rashidujjaman Rifat can see the blind spots in today’s technologies, and he’s eager to work with marginalized communities to address them. As an expert on ethical AI and human-computer interaction, he is passionate about ensuring new technologies emphasize values like adaptability, equity and pluralism. 

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Ten new faculty join Keough School of Global Affairs

Author: Renée LaReau

Group photo of seven faculty and staff members standing inside the Keough School of Global Affairs.

The Keough School of Global Affairs is welcoming 10 new faculty members with expertise in political science, economics, migration, sustainable development, technology ethics and more. They join a distinguished group of Keough School faculty whose teaching, research and global partnerships prepare students to confront today’s most pressing challenges.

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Connecting faith & global development: Keough School education prepared graduate to make an impact helping vulnerable children

Author: Josh Stowe

Seiko Kanda, a person with short dark hair, wearing a brown button-down shirt, smiles slightly while sitting in front of a light-colored building and flowering bushes.

Seiko Kanda, a 2020 graduate of the Keough School’s Master of Global Affairs program, shares how his education prepared him for a career in the nongovernmental organization sector — and how it deepened his understanding of religion and its role in global development and humanitarian work.

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Through respectful dialogue and encounter, students learn about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and work for peace

Author: Josh Stowe

A group of approximately 30 students and faculty pose for a photo in a courtyard. They are wearing white hoodies with a small logo. The group stands and kneels between a yellow wall with barred windows and a row of beige columns. A potted plant is visible in the bottom left corner.

A recent intercultural encounter in Rome enabled Notre Dame students to learn about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by meeting and talking with people who have lived through it. The trip, which built upon a Notre Dame class and a related Notre Dame Forum Series, reflects the University's larger focus on civil dialogue and the empathetic, people-first approach it has taken to teaching and learning about the conflict.

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Notre Dame faculty, students and administrators reflect on experiences in the Middle East

Author: Tracy DeStazio

An audience sits in a wood-paneled auditorium facing a large screen. The screen displays the title "On the Ground in Israel-Palestine" as part of an Israel-Palestine series. Five speakers plus a moderator sit in armchairs on a stage in front of the screen and appear to be engaged in a discussion.

Several distinguished experts from the University of Notre Dame gathered Dec. 4 at the Eck Visitors Center Auditorium to discuss their personal and professional connections to the ongoing conflict in Israel and Palestine. This was the third event in the Israel-Palestine Series of the 2024-25 Notre Dame Forum on “What Do We Owe Each Other?”

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Panel explores pathways to peaceful co-existence in the Middle East

Author: Notre Dame News

A white woman in a black jacket stands at a wooden podium, speaking into a microphone. Three individuals are seated behind her, slightly out of focus. A large chalkboard is visible in the background.

Peacebuilding activists Nidal Foqaha, Tehila Wenger and Ezzeldeen Masri joined the University of Notre Dame’s Lisa Schirch on Nov. 11 for a discussion in DeBartolo Hall about how to resolve the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians in a way that provides peace, security and equal rights for all people living in the region. The event was the second in the Israel-Palestine Series of the 2024-25 Notre Dame Forum on “What Do We Owe Each Other?”

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Nirvikar Singh: We're Going to Stand Up for Ourselves and for Anybody Who Needs Support

Author: Rebekah Go

"So, the external markers of Sikhism date to Guru Gobind Singh, where he says, “you are going to be fearless. And to be fearless, you are going to stand out. You can never deny who you are.” In simplified language, that's the origin of the uncut hair and turban for men, and to some extent, for women. The sword, another such marker, all Sikhs would agree, is a symbol of self-defense, but also of standing up against oppression of any kind. Now from there things got worse in the sense that a succession of Mughal rulers or officials tried to wipe out the Sikhs. Guru Gobind Singh lost all four of his sons in this struggle for survival. Sikhs’ external markers come from that struggle, and have been reinforced by it. “We're going to stand up for ourselves and for anybody who needs support.”"

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