Rory Stratton, a 2005 graduate of Bates College, is researching Islamic
art and architectural history in Sri Lanka with the support of a Fulbright
grant.
Stratton, of Northeast Harbor, is studying mosques in the island nation,
whose Muslim population totals around 8 percent. An art and visual culture
major at Bates, Stratton is continuing research that he began at the college
during a junior-year program in Sri Lanka. He returned there in November
and will stay at least until August 2006.
"Receiving the Fulbright is a great honor," he says. "I'm
excited to be back in Sri Lanka doing work that I think is challenging and
valuable."
"My work relates to architectural history and conservation, but also
addresses more complex questions about ethnic and religious identity among
Sri Lankan Muslims," Stratton continues. Buddhists constitute nearly
70 percent of the population, with Hindus and Christians the other substantial
religious minorities.
"There's a tremendous amount of history recorded in the architecture
of Sri Lankan Muslims that reinforces important aspects of ethnic identity,"
he says. "Sadly, much of this architecture is disintegrating or being
replaced by modern buildings without adequate records being made of the
original structures."
Stratton is documenting historically valuable mosques that are in danger
of destruction or of renovation that would obliterate their symbolic worth.
He also plans to compare historical and contemporary examples of Islamic
architecture, with an emphasis on architecture's role in expressing identify.
Finally, he plans to compile documentary materials that will facilitate
others' research in the field. "I hope to collect a significant amount
of information for further study," he says, "all of which can
be given back to local communities."
"The Fulbright allows me to examine Islamic religious architecture
and identity politics outside the traditionally understood boundaries of
the Muslim world and in a highly dynamic cultural environment," Stratton
says. Between the December 2004 tsunami that killed about 31,000 Sri Lankans
and the simmering conflict between the island's government and the separatist
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, it's a tumultuous period in Sri Lankan
history.
"The peace process between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil
Tigers will have an inestimable impact on Muslims," Stratton says.
"In many cases, they have strong ties to both the Sinhala Buddhist
majority, with whom they have shared the island since pre-Islamic times,
and the Tamils, with whom they have linguistic and cultural ties."
"They're an underrepresented group with a great deal to gain or lose
in the near future, depending upon how the political situation develops."
Stratton is also working with design students at the Colombo School of Architecture,
in Sri Lanka's capital, examining the ongoing efforts to rebuild housing
in the island's coastal regions in the wake of the devastating tsunami.
Stratton is one of more than 1,000 U.S. students traveling abroad during
the 2005-06 academic year through the Fulbright Program. Established in
1946, the program's purpose is to build mutual understanding between the
people of the United States and the rest of the world.
The Fulbright Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau
of Educational and Cultural Affairs. It operates in more than 150 countries
worldwide.