Hi everyone! My name is Maggie Lehman and I’m a rising junior at Georgetown in the School of Foreign Service. I’m studying International Politics and am originally from Boston, MA!
This summer, I will be pursuing a research project centered around the intersection of gender, religion, and peacebuilding. In particular, I plan to focus on the region of Israel/Palestine and look at feminist movements and female peacebuilders on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I have always been interested in studying the Middle East, but I specifically enjoy learning about the impact of and interactions between the various faith traditions in the region. In this project, time permitting, I also hope to get the opportunity to explore what secular peacebuilding looks like as opposed to interfaith or religious peacebuilding. Overall, I plan to use a gendered lens when exploring this topic, focusing on women’s impacts and the unique challenges that Israeli and Palestinian women face when trying to pursue peaceful solutions. I came across the idea for this project during a class I took called Israel and the Arab and Muslim World where a few of the journals and books I read for my final paper referenced female peacebuilding in Israel/Palestine. Because I didn’t have the opportunity to go into depth on the topic during that class, I knew I wanted to dive further into the subject, so I am really looking forward to having the chance to do that this summer!
My goals for the program this summer are centered around the fact that this is my first time doing independent research of this scale. I hope to develop the skills and knowledge to allow me to produce my final deliverable, but also strengthen my time management and personal goal setting skills so I can be even more successful in future independent long-term projects.
I am looking forward to seeing what this research period has in store and am excited to gain new skills I can use in the future. I also can’t wait to hear more about the other projects and I’m sure I will learn many new things from you all!
Hello! My name is Maggie Lehman and I'm a senior at Georgetown University. I am an International Politics major in the School of Foreign Service and I am originally from Boston, MA.
Last summer, I researched the intersectionality of feminism and grassroots peacebuilding in Israel/Palestine. I explored the impacts of the inclusion of women in peacebuilding (or the lack thereof) and the importance of including women in these spaces.
This summer, I was in Amman, Jordan, working with Reclaim Childhood, an NGO that empowers girls and women through sport. At RC, I worked in the office and learned how an NGO functions. In the evenings, I had the chance to go to RC's flagship programming, sports camp, and work on the field with the coaches and girls.
I look forward to connecting with you all -- please don't hesitate to reach out if you'd like to chat!
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