John Compaglia - GTU Common MA (2010)

"I am a former Master's student at the GTU where I was affiliated with The Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology. I studied Islamic and Greek intellectual traditions, primarily. Recently, I was awarded a Henry Luce Fellowship in conjunction with Gadjah Mada University's ICRS program to study religion and culture in Indonesia for one semester (August-December 2010). The location of Gadjah Mada University is in Yogyakarta (Central Java). The fellowship also includes free housing for the duration of the program, a monthly stipend, and pay for weekly trips to important religious and cultural cites throughout the island of Java.

The purpose of the fellowship is to promote understanding of Indonesia's diverse cultural and religious past and present. As part of the fellowship, I had to propose a topic of research. I chose to focus on the early history of Islam in Indonesia, specifically sufism as a force of conversion due to its willingness to adapt to pre-existing local religio-cultural practices. I am interested in this topic for two main reasons. First, as Islamic Studies was the dominant focus of my Master's degree, I am excited to have the opportunity to continue my exploration of the Islamic tradition. Second, the early history of Islam in Indonesia is interwoven with the pre-existing Indigenous, Buddhist, and Hindu traditions all of which are fascinating to me as well."