Full Breakdown
Interfaith Photography Retreat Fosters Dialogue at UMBC
By Drooid · · How we work
In this breakdown
01
The “Picturing Pluralism” Retreat
University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) hosted a two-day “Picturing Pluralism” retreat during fall break. The project, a partnership between UMBC’s Center for Religion, Spirituality and Pluralism and Interfaith Photovoice, brought together about 30 students and 10 faculty and staff. Participants shared personal photographs—ranging from a family-owned collection of Bibles to a Sikh kara bracelet—and responded to prompts about belief, belonging and campus barriers. The retreat aimed to move beyond “cultural competence” toward “cultural humility,” encouraging listeners to ask questions rather than assume full understanding.
02
Campus Diversity in a Charged National Climate
UMBC, founded in the 1960s and enrolling roughly 13,530 students, is described by faculty as one of the nation’s most religiously diverse campuses, with active Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Sikh and Dharmic groups. The retreat occurred shortly after student vigils remembering the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-Israel conflict and protesting the ensuing war in Gaza, underscoring the broader national disputes over identity, free speech and inclusion that many colleges face.
03
Official Perspectives
Lisa Huberman, UMBC Hillel’s social-action engagement associate, described the shared use of the multi-use hall for prayer and worship as “a delicate dance.” Roman R. Abdul Samad Amjad, a Photovoice facilitator, noted that the method gives participants a role in defining problems and possible solutions.
04
Verbatim Quotes
- “It’s very much like a delicate dance,” — Sometimes Lisa Huberman
- “It just reminds me of my values,” — Onkarpreet Kaur
- “I love to hear what people think, how they process things,” — Fatima Hafeez, a second-year political science student, shared a photograph of St
- “There are different stories being told,” — Amjad, a Photovoice facilitator and scholar of community-based participatory research
- “My dream is that these spaces can be more beyond campus, too, and that we can all be more interconnected, to just be human with each other in rooms, across difference,” — Duncan Winger
- “We are living in the same space with different beliefs,” — Onkarpreet Kaur
05
Looking Ahead
Participants are assembling a collective exhibition of selected photographs and captions, slated to open in early December at UMBC’s Albin O. Kuhn Library and Gallery. Organizers hope the showcase will extend the dialogue beyond campus walls, fostering “interconnected…human…rooms, across difference.”