Hoya Paxa Student Symposium 2025

Students discuss religion and politics in history and culture during the first panel of the 2024 student symposium.

Saturday, April 12, 2025
9:30 a.m. - 2:45 p.m. EDT
Location: Pedro Arrupe, S.J. Hall Arrupe Multipurpose Room Map

The Hoya Paxa Student Symposium featured our Religion, Ethics, and World Affairs (REWA) minors showcasing their capstone projects, as well as student research projects from other Berkley Center programs and courses.

We invited Georgetown and the wider Berkley Center community to participate by attending the in-person sessions. 

Schedule

9:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. | Refreshments and Poster Session

  • Ariana Biondi-Copeland (C'25), "The Catholic Church and the Body Politic: The Influence of Religious Doctrine on American Abortion Legislation"

10:00 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. | Welcome

  • Nick Scrimenti, Director of Student Programs 
  • Thomas Banchoff, Director
  • Nigel Li, REWA Teaching Assistant

10:15 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. | Religion and Ethics

  • Abigail Assadi (C'26), "Applying Catholic Social Teaching to Transitional Justice Theory"
  • Julianne Meneses (C'25), 2024 Education and Social Justice Fellow, "Democracy and Non-Formal Education: The Creation of Agency"
  • Katherine Wijenaike-Bogle (C'25), "Comparative Environmental Ethics in Christianity and Buddhism"

11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. | Boxed Lunch and Learn

12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. | Religion, Peace, and Conflict

  • Phoebe Chambers (C'25), "Underestimate It At Your Peril: The Role of Religion in the Cyprus Conflict"
  • Alex Johnson (C'25), "Christian Nationalism: An Existential and Empowered Terrorist Threat"
  • Chantal Li (SFS'25, G'26), "The Return of Interstate Religious Wars"

1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. | Religion, Reconciliation, and Dialogue 

  • Blain Beyene (C'25), "The Influence of Religion on Ethiopian Politics: Russian Orthodox Internationalism from the Nineteenth to the Twenty-first Century"
  • Elizabeth Foster (C'27), 2025 Doyle Dialogue Fellow; Campus Advocate Fellow for PEN America
  • Mary Nguyen (C'25), "The Fall: Saigon and the Origin of Reconciliation"

2:30 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. | Closing Remarks

  • Nick Scrimenti, Director of Student Programs

Other Participants

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