2012-2013 - Center for Khmer Studies

Activities & Projects
CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS
Workshop: ‘Colonial Legacies and
Contemporary Scholarship in Sri
Lanka and Cambodia’
Workshops and conferences got off to an exceptional
start in January 2012. After almost eighteen
months in the planning, and with great excitement,
we co­convened the workshop ‘Colonial Legacies and
Contemporary Scholarship in Sri Lanka and Cambodia’. This
workshop was a joint exercise with another American
Overseas Research Center (AORC), the American Institute
for Sri Lankan Studies (AISLS). The idea originated in discussions
between John Rogers, the Director of AISLS, and
CKS director Michael Sullivan during the Council of
Overseas American Research Centers’ administrative
workshop in Istanbul, in 2010. They agreed that Sri Lanka
and Cambodia shared certain structural similarities and
historical experiences, as well as some interesting divergences
that warranted comparative investigation. Both
countries have Theravada Buddhism as national religions,
both experienced colonial rule, and both gained independence
within ten years of the end of World War II.
Turning a great idea for a joint workshop into reality in
Siem Reap was not, however, as straightforward as we
anticipated. Surprisingly, Sri Lanka is on a list of ten countries
whose nationals cannot obtain a visa upon arrival in
Cambodia. Add to that the permissions needed for Sri
Lankan scholars to attend workshops and conferences
overseas, and you have an administrative nightmare. Both
groups had to write innumerable letters and guarantees to
home universities, immigration authorities, airlines, government
ministries, with no real certainty that the Sri
Lankan scholars would be granted entry. Much to our
relief the Sri Lankans arrived safely with a minimum of
fuss.
Proceedings kicked off with a thought provoking introduction
by AISLS vice president Professor Jonathan
Spencer, laying the intellectual groundwork for the workshop.
Eight papers were given over two days of intense,
but enjoyable comparisons and discussions. Our four Sri
Lankan guests, Dr. Janaki Jayawardena, Professor
Premakumara de Silva, Dr. Harshana Rambukwella and
Dr. Liyanage Amarakeerthi, gave fascinating papers on
themes ranging from the construction of Sinhala Women
in Colonial Sri Lanka, British Colonial Impact on
Buddhism, Post­Secularism and History, and Cultural
Anne Hansen, Michael Sullivan and Premakumara De Silva during the Colonial Legacies of Sri Lanka and Cambodia workshop
10 IN FOCUS