Wednesday 24 June 2026 10:00am to 4:30pm
Faculty of Divinity
The annual student-led symposium — registration is now open. Read on for an overview of the programme and practicalities.
Air bubbles under the sea, a Pixabay image courtesy of Pexels.com
About
Since 2023, CIP has hosted an annual symposium, designed by and for Cambridge students to discuss religion-related thought and research at any level and across different disciplines.
For 2026, the convenors are Geneva Blackmer (Divinity), Hannah Peterson (Sociology) and Songzan Xu (Divinity).
Sessions
10:00 Freedom through a philosophical lens
Popular secularisation and aestheticisation of the absurd: reframing Kierkegaardian faithful freedom through either/or, Elliott Smith, and their interpretations | Caitlin Lucia Dela Cruz
Christomorphic pluralism: a Schleiermacherian approach to religious freedom | Amen Gashaw
11:45 Discussion: Negotiating religious freedom as a student/academic
Opening provocation: Negotiating religious freedom in the doctoral journey | Maryam Bham
13:15 Freedom and morality
Chechnya’s Black Widows: piety, political struggle and despair in contexts of protracted violence| Artom Banissi
When enemies become friends: unexpected encounters and the disruption of moral hostility | Elise Harboldt
15:00 Freedom in space, place and speech
For God and country: a discourse construction of medemer as a hegemonic project in Ethiopia | Tezera Tazebew
Materialising the everyday: spatial imaginaries and domestic appropriations in the Mexican Vecindad | Aislinn Maria Cordoba Fernandez
For titles and abstracts, please download the PDF below.
Practicalities
Capacity is limited and we strongly recommend signing up in advance if you are planning to attend this event (see link above). There is no fee for registration.
Coffee and pastries will be provided on arrival for the first 20 people to register. Lunch is also provided (without charge) to all speakers.
This event is supported by the Cambridge Interfaith Research Forum.