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
“Challenges and Recommendations for Peace, Justice, and the Common Good”
Thursday, February 12 - Friday, February 13
In-Person in St. Rita's Hall and Virtual (Zoom)
The Villanova University Center for Peace and Justice Education announces the fifth annual graduate student peace and justice symposium from February 12-13, 2026. The symposium theme “Challenges and Recommendations for Peace, Justice, and the Common Good” 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 “The Stakes of State-building: Catholics in Wartime China.” There will be ten exciting graduate student research panels throughout the day on Friday, February 13, from 9 am – 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
Villanova University Department of Theology & Religious Studies
Friday, February 13, 2026
8:30 - 8:45 AM
St. Rita Multifaith Prayer Room, 311
Interfaith Prayer for Peace
Rev. Julie Sheetz
Panel 1
Interfaith Bridgebuilding
Moderated by Dr. Kerry San Chirico
St. Rita Hall, 102
- Riza Saputra –Universitas Islam Negeri Antasari Banjarmasin: Being Non-Muslim in the City of “Serambi Mekkah” Martapura: Identity Negotiation and Minority Subordination in Public Spaces
- Joseph Kwadwo Asuming – Univ. of Ghana: Religious Peacebuilding in Ghana's Fourth Republic
- Ujun Junaedi – Boston Univ.: Dialogue Can Be Fun: Board Games as a Youth Interfaith Dialogue
Panel 2
Youth, Peace & Justice
Moderated by Dr. Rubina Bhatti
St. Rita Hall, 111
- Yakomina Mangmah – 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 – Indonesia University of Education: Unlearning the Past: How Youth are Transforming HIV Advocacy
- Oluwasegun Ogunsakin –Ekiti State University: Injustice in the Land: Exploring poverty and its distributive effects on children’s well-being in Northern Nigeria
- Syed Saleem Abbas –University of the Punjab; Irfan Nawaz; Muhammad Idrees: Reimagining Child Protection in Pakistan: Social Workers as Catalysts for Policy and Practice Transformation
Panel 3
Women’s Liberation & Empowerment
Moderated by Dr. Colleen Mitchell
St. Rita Hall, 210-212
- Sr. Ngoc Nguyen – Marquette University: Solidarity as an Interconnectedness to Promote Liberation for Vietnamese Women
- Hasset Hailu – Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary: Scars of Silence: Remembering Wartime Sexual Violence and Preventing Atrocities in Ethiopia
- Fida Hussain – Quaid-i-Azam University; Shahzeb Ali: Patriarchy in transition: Deconstructing gender inequality and tracing women's empowerment pathways in Pakistan
- Kirn Yochbled – 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
- Sonia Putri Ana Awa Matalu & Nita Amriani –Gadjah 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 –Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary: The Eschatological Focus: Reclaiming Creation Care for Peace and Environmental Justice in Ethiopian Mainline Churches
- Jeanatan Hall –The 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
- Sr. Hai Nguyen, OP – 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 México: The Sikh Sahīd and the Fighting for Justice through the Narratives of ḍhāḍī jatthā Songs
- Stella Osei-Agyeman & Esther Osei-Agyeman –University 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
- Joyada Gultom – Boston University: Friendship as a Path to Peace: Reimagining Ecclesiology and Youth Fellowship in Indonesia
- Ruth Haiel Gelane – Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary: Inspiring Examples for Building Peace: The Awramba Community as a Praxis of John Paul Lederach and Johan Galtung
- Nazirullah Khan – 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 – 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
- Mohammad Zain ul Abidin – Universiti Sains Malaysia: Trust on the Margins: Transgender-Police Encounters as Struggles for Recognition, Dignity, and Peace in Pakistan
- Hui Zhang – Villanova University: No Freedom Without the Other: Beauvoir’s Ethics in the Immigrant Context
- Zeeshan Meraj – University of Sargodha: Right to Health vs. Reality: Exploring Healthcare Inequities in Pakistan
- Alexis Atwood – Villanova University: Human Rights Education and Literary Analysis
Panel 8
Responsibility for Justice
Moderated by Dr. Joe Evans
St. Rita Hall, 210-212
- Sr. Luyen Ngo – Marquette University: The Sanctity of Life and the Challenge of Capital Punishment in Vietnam
- Sr. Hoa Nguyen – Villanova University: John the Baptist: A Prophet of Truth and the Dilemma of Speaking Up or Remaining Complacent
- Erica Cruz –Seton Hall University: Knowledge and the Power of Powerlessness in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness
- Kate Giancatarino – Villanova University: 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
- Weijia Cheng – Boston University: Deriving Theological Benchmarks for Ethical Human-AI Interfaces from Three Models of Imago Dei
- Guinevere Keith – Villanova University: Generative Hermeneutics: Is the Holy Spirit Moving through AI When it Interprets Scripture?
- Agetta Putri Awijaya – Duke University: Rereading the Conquest of Canaan in the Context of the Israeli-Palestinian War through Javanese-Christian Perspective
- Ashley Lee – Villanova University: 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
- Carolin Hohmann – University of Münster: "No Mohr"! Examining Racial Awareness in Austria: A Semiotic Analysis of the Logo of Vorarlberger Mohrenbrauerei
- Samuel Fidelis Odidi – Villanova University: Post-Colonialism: We've Mourned Enough!
- Griffyn Leeds – Villanova University: Elphaba as Black Feminist Theory Embodiment; A Close Reading of Elphaba in the Cinematic Adaptation of Wicked
5:30 - 5:45 PM
St. Rita Hall, 102
Closing Comments
Dr. Joe Evans
Center for Peace & Justice Education
5:45 - 6:30 PM
St. Rita Hall, 102
Post-Symposium Gathering