Date of Award

Spring 2022

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Major

Art History and International Studies

First Advisor

Dr. Natassja Gunasena

Second Advisor

Dr. Seth Markle

Abstract

This research project is based on an analysis from photographs from newspaper and online media archives. All of the images the newspapers published from three specific media sources will be examined. These photographs have been accessed through online archives. This study will focus on images from the tail end of the war specifically from the years 2007-2009, as the war ended in May 2009. This project will focus on international sources and how they portrayed images of the Sri Lankan war. Domestic sources were not considered due to the inherent bias Sri Lanka has with the Civil War. News sources like Aljazeera, The Guardian, and The New York Times will be highlighted in this research project. It will be important to understand how various international news agencies depicted the Sri Lankan conflict as each country has their own prejudices and geopolitical agendas. The research question at hand dealt with how international sources depicted the Sri Lankan Civil War to global audiences. I argue that due to complicated geopolitical relationships with Sri Lanka, the Middle East, England, and the United States portray the Civil War in different ways that suit their own global interests. I did not want to consider South Asian news sources because of their proximity to the conflict. In addition, this thesis considers the historical context and relationship of the Middle East, England, and the United States in relation to Sri Lanka. This was done in order to gain a better understanding of why they depicted the Sri Lankan Civil War the way they chose to. In addition to a written thesis, a podcast has been made where I explore my family’s memories of growing up during the Civil War. This project has allowed me to investigate the war through an academic and personal lens.

Comments

Senior thesis completed at Trinity College for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in International Studies.

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