Supported by the American Institute for Sri Lankan Studies, the conference will look at Sri Lanka’s (contemporary and historical) variegated social formations and their processes, flux, renewals, and aphasias.

Friday, March 25, 2011 9.30am – 6.00pm, Room D1103, 6E 16th Street, The New School

9:30 – 10:00am Welcome and Introductory

Remarks: Sharika Thiranagama, New School for Social Research

10:00 – 12:00pm Panel 1: Remaking Society, Remaking Scholarship

Discussant: Vasuki Nesiah, New York University

Vivian Y. Choi: “Anticipatory States: Life ‘After’ Disaster in Sri Lanka”

Nalika Gajaweera: “Doing Good for the Nation: Religion and NGO Development Work in Sri Lanka”

Kaori Hatsumi: “The Long-Term Consequences of the Relocation and Isolation of a Fishing Community Due to Civil War in Northern Sri Lanka”

1:30 – 3:00pm Panel 2: Schooling Aspirations

Discussant: Daniel Bass, Lynn University

Bernardo Brown: “When School Doesn’t Help: The Decline of Education Amongst Sri Lankan Migrant Workers to Italy”

Rachel Cole: “How do School Quality Inputs Impact Families’ Decisions About After-School Tutoring in Sri Lanka?”

Ahalya Satkunaratnam: “Teaching Dance, Teaching Difference: Aesthetics and Public Education in Sri Lanka”

3:30 – 6:00pm Panel 3: Common Places

Discussant: Sonali Perera, Hunter College

Nethra Samarawickrema: “Unfreezing the Fort: Place-making by Muslim Residents in the Fort of Galle in Sri Lanka”

Kanchuka Dharmasiri: “Everything You Can Sell: An Exploration of the Wayside and Open Theatre’s Performances in Public Spaces”

Prabha Manuratne: “Violent Places: Landscapes of Violence in No More Tears, Sister and the Music of Ajith Kumarasiri”