International conference on Social Sciences and Humanities at Peradeniya University

International conference on Social Sciences and Humanities at Peradeniya University The Faculty of Arts of the University of Peradeniya is organising an International conference on the Social Sciences and the Humanities. The conference will be held on December 16 and 17 , at the Faculty of Arts. The theme of the conference is 'Knowledge Society or Knowledge for Society: Social Sciences and Humanities in 21st Century Sri Lanka'.

The events and issues that have dominated the world scene in the first decade of the 21st Century – armed uprisings, natural disasters, global recession, climate change – have highlighted the need for knowledge generation and knowledge sharing that has at itscore the well-being of the human being in the dual contexts of living under vulnerable governance structures and living on a fragile planet.

The conference will help highlight the transformative potential of the humanities and social sciences in the generation of such rich and nuanced 'knowledges' and re-vision what scholars in these fields should be doing in Sri Lanka in the new century.

The conference will feature four eminent and distinguished keynote speeches distributed over the course of the conference. The keynote speakers are President, Pugwash Conferences for Science and World Affairs and Deputy Chairman Governing Board of Stockholm International Peace Research Institute,Jayantha Dhanapala,Emeritus Professor of Law, University of Colombo, Prof. Savitri Goonesekera,Adam Smith Professor of Corporate Governance, University of Cambridge,Prof. Gishan Dissanaike and Senior Consultant Social Anthropologist, Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies,Dr. Pradeep Jeganathan.

“We are indeed privileged to have the opportunity to listen to eminent keynote speakers from varied backgrounds in the social sciences and humanities fields which include three distinguished Peradeniya Alumni” says Dean, Faculty of Arts Prof.Anoma Abhayaratne.

The conference will close with a panel discussion on 'Priorities for Higher Education in 21st Century Sri Lanka: Natural Sciences & Technology vs Social Sciences and Humanities'.

The panel discussion will feature Dept of Civil Engineering, University Moratuwa of Prof. Priyan Dias ,Dept of Sociology, University of Colombo, Dr. Farzana Haniffa ,Dept of Zoology, University of Colombo, Dr. Nirmalie Pallewatta,CEO, WSO2 Inc.,Dr. Sanjiva Weerawarana and Executive Director, Verite Research, Dr. Nishan de Mel.

“In the context of a society that is re-examining the relevance of higher education in the social sciences and in the humanities, we believe that this panel discussion will be an important way through which we can contribute to this debate”, says Chair of the Organising Committee, Prof. Carmen Wickramagamage.

Around 60 papers, including around 15 from overseas contributors, ranging across a wide variety of disciplines in the social sciences and humanities, will be presented at this two day conference. More details about the conference (including conference registration) can be obtained from

www.pdn.ac.lk/arts/icssh [email protected]