Conference Agenda

Students in this session present research and creative work developed during a recent study abroad program on the Caribbean island of Montserrat, a place profoundly shaped by the volcanic eruptions that began in 1995 and the displacement that followed. Drawing on interviews, observation, and visual storytelling, the projects explore how residents continue to make meaning, sustain community, and maintain connections to the island. One student examines the role of a local religious community, highlighting how faith, ritual, and shared belief provide social support and continuity in a landscape marked by disruption. Two students present a short documentary film, a work in progress, that explores residents’ ongoing relationships to Montserrat. Two additional students discuss the college’s field station and the collaborative scientific and social scientific work conducted there, emphasizing the importance of this shared space for interdisciplinary research and immersive undergraduate learning.

In the ten-year period between 1989 and 1999, the Caribbean island of Montserrat was ravaged by two successive disasters: first, Hurricane Hugo and then six years later the initial eruption of the Soufrière Hills Volcano. The impact of these two events drastically altered the social and cultural structures of the island: following the initial eruption, ensuing volcanic events (including the destruction of Montserrat's capital, Plymouth) forced the evacuation of the more densely populated southern two thirds of the island to the sparsely populated north. During this time of crisis, nearly two thirds of the population left the island, due primarily to a lack of opportunity and space in the north. This left the institutions of the island strained, and the remaining population was forced to rebuild livelihoods in a region many of them had never lived. Throughout the tumult that defined this period, and the collective trauma that has characterized its aftermath, religious institutions on Montserrat have revealed themselves to be a critical part of the cultural and practical infrastructure on island. Over 90% of the island is religious, and around 85% of the population are Christian, with a wide variety of denominations represented currently, and over the course of the island's history. Despite the centrality of faith, the role of churches and faith communities on Montserrat during and after the eruption remains under-examined. This paper, based upon participant observation at three churches of different denominations, primarily St. Martin de Porres Catholic Church and semi-structured interviews with congregants and clergy of St. Martin's as well as three other denominations, offers a preliminary exploration of the varied spiritual, emotional, and practical roles that religious institutions have played on an island where secular and governmental institutions often struggle to provide the same. It highlights how churches have been a vector for community resilience, a connection to the island's large diaspora, a force for education, and a shelter for refugees evacuated during the eruption.

This paper and presentation examines the significance of Simon’s Rock at Bard College’s new permanent field station on the island of Montserrat. Though the program has operated for more than a decade, this new base of operations will ensure collaborative, interdisciplinary research on the island continues to take shape in new directions. From this field station, Simon’s Rock has the opportunity to create stronger links to and collaborate with Montserratians. A living-learning space, this field station can house more than half a dozen faculty, which fosters the integration of diverse academic disciplines. It also welcomes faculty and students from partner universities, expanding opportunities for inter-institutional collaboration. The field station provides a place for faculty to complete multi-disciplinary research and a supportive environment in which students can pursue their own collaborative and independent research.