2026
Izzak D. Novak
- Doctoral Student
- Northwestern University
Abstract
Guided by the Quaker belief in the divine light of each person, the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) works with communities and partners of all faiths worldwide to challenge unjust systems and promote lasting peace by nurturing the seeds of change and respect for human life to fundamentally transform our societies and institutions. The fellow will contribute to communications and community engagement work in establishing and growing a network of Quaker congregations committed to acting for migrant justice. Members of the Quaker Action for Just Migration Network will share, learn, and support each other in activism to ensure the rights, safety, and dignity of migrant communities in the US.
Izzak Novak is a PhD candidate in the Religious Studies Department at Northwestern University. His research seeks out the unexpected, unruly, and, to some, unwanted ways religion surfaces in US culture. He is currently exploring hunting as emblematic of the bleeding between various domains of culture and as a catalyst for multi-being relationships. Broadly, he is interested in the legal and cultural negotiation of religion and “spirituality”; religious freedom and religion and the law; neoliberalism and religion; and the religious work performed by children, adolescents, and young adults.
Izzak Novak is a PhD candidate in the Religious Studies Department at Northwestern University. His research seeks out the unexpected, unruly, and, to some, unwanted ways religion surfaces in US culture. He is currently exploring hunting as emblematic of the bleeding between various domains of culture and as a catalyst for multi-being relationships. Broadly, he is interested in the legal and cultural negotiation of religion and “spirituality”; religious freedom and religion and the law; neoliberalism and religion; and the religious work performed by children, adolescents, and young adults.