Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence Gamini Keerawella will give a talk titled “War and Peace in Sri Lanka: Lessons Beyond the Borders” on Thursday, Oct. 31 at 4 p.m. in Rehm Library at the College of the Holy Cross. The talk is free and open to the public, and will be followed by a reception. This event is co-sponsored by the dean’s office, the history department, and the Peace and Conflict and Asian Studies programs.
Keerawella, professor and former department chair of history at the University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka, is an internationally renowned expert in conflict management and peace building processes in multiethnic communities. This lecture presents a unique opportunity to hear the first hand experiences of a high level negotiator in Sri Lanka, where his responsibilities included advising the president, as well as appointments in the Ministry of Ethnic Affairs and the Ministry of Justice.
In 1993-94, Keerawella was a Fulbright Scholar-In-Residence at the University of California at Berkeley. He has published two books, “From National Security to Human Security: Evolving Security Discourse in Sri Lanka” (Dhaka: Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS), 2008) and “Japan in South Asia in the Context of New Discourse on Peace and Security” (Chiba: Institute of Developing Economies, 2005), and contributed to numerous publications and journals. Additionally, Keerawella has accepted invitations to deliver talks at venues ranging from the United Nations World Conference in 2001 in South Africa to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) in Switzerland, and consulted in discussions on matters relevant to his area of expertise, such as bilingualism and multiculturalism in Canada, and the peace process in Northern Ireland.
The second Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence hosted by the College, Professor Keerawella is one of approximately 800 foreign faculty and professionals who will teach and/or research in the U.S. through the Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program in 2013-2014. In addition to this lecture, students at the College will have the opportunity to work with Professor Keerawella in two courses offered by the history and political science departments in the spring semester: “War and Peace in Contemporary Asia,” and “Ethnicity and the State in Asia.” For more information, please contact the departments.
Related News
- “Holy Cross to Host Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence from Sri Lanka”
- Worcester Magazine, Oct. 24; "Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence Gamini Keerawella to Address Campus"
