A Hub for Scholarship and Community

At the heart of the Women’s Studies in Religion Program (WSRP) are the research associates (RAs): scholars who come to HDS to spend a year devoted to researching and writing a book-length project as well as teaching a course based on that work. 

The WSRP is “about pushing the limits of our knowledge of religion and gender,” said Ann Braude, WSRP director. “The research associates are here because they are pushing the limits.”  

The intellectual home for this rigorous scholarship is the Carriage House, an unassuming building tucked behind the Dean’s residence. With offices, a small conference room, and a kitchenette, this compact space is a generative hub for the RAs’ work, including robust interdisciplinary exchange. The vitality and warmth of the Carriage House are sustained in part by Program Coordinator Tracy Wall, who, along with Braude, provides the expert coordination and continuity that enable the WSRP to thrive.

Throughout the academic year, the RAs meet biweekly in the Carriage House, facilitated by Braude, during which the scholars take turns presenting a portion of their project and receiving feedback from the group. Just as important are the impromptu conversations and everyday moments of community that the building fosters. 

“It’s like a little beehive,” remarked Ashley Purpura, MTS ’09, during a 2025 WSRP panel at HDS, describing how the scholars come and go from their individual offices, pausing to chat with one another about their work over a cup of tea. “There was a sense of coming into that space and being supported by other women.” 

She reflected on how transformative it was to be in conversation with scholars from different disciplines and religious traditions, united by a shared commitment to strengthening both their fields and the communities their work serves—a sentiment echoed by many of the program’s RAs.  

For this work to flourish, the Carriage House must be carefully maintained. Like other campus buildings, it requires regular upkeep and, at times, significant repairs or renovations, which unrestricted funding helps support. In April 2018, the roof was fully replaced, from the plywood decking to the gutters to the slate tiles, in accordance with Cambridge Historical Society guidelines. In November 2021, additional structural repairs were needed after a falling tree caused significant damage. Since then, the School has continued to invest in the health of the building, including with sustainability upgrades —such as occupancy sensors and lighting timers, energy-efficient heating and cooling systems, and enhancements to the building envelope—in alignment with HDS's leadership in environmental sustainability.

Home to the WSRP since 2001, the Carriage House has been the setting for much of the research, writing, and discussion that has contributed to the more than 130 books authored by research associates. Each publication represents both an individual achievement for the author as well as a contribution to the growing body of scholarship that WSRP scholars collectively advance. As RA Zahra Moballegh reflected, “We are doing individual projects but it’s also a collaboration. In each line that I'm writing, the presence of my friends and sisters in the Carriage House is there.”