Browsing by Author "Kulasekara, N."

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The movement of Equality: the Gay Rights Movement as a social movement in the United States
(2nd International Studies Students’ Research Symposium – 2018, Department of International Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Kulasekara, N.
Lesbian, gay bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) individuals as a demographic group remained largely silent and unseen in American culture until after the Second World War. Prior to the World Wars, many gay and lesbian Americans hid their sexual orientation out of fear and shame. Gay men who lived in urban centres often formed close social networks with other gay men yet remained a part of a hidden subculture. Society as a whole grew less tolerant of homosexuality in the 1950s and 1960s. The LGBT community has gained much wider acceptance in American culture since the 1970s, but the struggle continues. Today, LGBT Americans are waging political battles in many areas, addressing same-sex marriage or civil unions, equal employment practices, and the right to live without fear of harassment or violence. However, Discrimination against LGBT individuals started to grow in the mid1950s: LGBT men and women were fired from their jobs or dismissed from the military because of their sexual orientation.The gay rights movement has been termed the predominant civil rights movement of the twenty-first century. The research takes up aqualitative approach and to that end it gathers secondary data that assess the LGBT climate and their civil rights movement in the United States. The analysis is largely based on Equality concept and social movement theory. A crucial question examine here is; how far the gay rights movement has been successful as a social movement in USA. The findings reveal that LGBT Americans still face discrimination in many aspects of their lives. Such as at school, at work, when they try to buy a home, or when they apply for a loan. USA is at the top of the world’s equality but it does not have the same equality as they show.
A study of the Afro-Sri Lankan Community of Sri Lankain Puttalam, Kalpitiya and Trincomalee
(University of Kelaniya, 2015) Kulasekara, N.
Sri Lankan Africans or Sri Lankans of African descent (also known derogatorily as Kaffirs or Kapiri) are a very small ethnic group in Sri Lanka who are descendants of African workers and soldiers brought to the island by Portuguese colonists in the 17th Century. The Afro-Sri Lankan community of Sri Lanka is merging with the Sri Lankan society and their African identity is not preserved in their culture or their language.Therefore, it was useful to research into the distribution and preservation of this community. The research was focused on tracing and identifying the Afro-Sri Lankan communities scattered in the county. The research conducted on this community was mostly regarding their music and dance of one community. The aim of this study therefore was to identify other communities and document their social and cultural heritage. Most research studies are focused on the Afro-Sri Lankan community living in Sirambi Adiya, Puttalam. The famous song and dance of Kaffir Manja is found in the Afro-Sri Lankan community in Puttalam. The community living in Trincomalee and Kalpitiya were not included in them. Therefore this research study presents data on the Afro-Sri Lankan community living in Trincomalee and Kalpitiya as well. Also the scattered families living in many parts of Sri Lanka such as Negombo, Jaffna,Wanathamulla and Hokandara were contacted and included in the research. The present research included data from male and female participants who volunteered from the community. The research subjects were selected from all Afro-Sri Lankan communities the researcher was able to find in Sri Lanka. The research instruments used were speech recordings and interviews. The research finding will be documented and preserved for future research.
A study of the Language variety used by the Afro- Sri lankan Community of Sri Lanka. (Living in Puttalam, Kalpitya and Trincomalee)
(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2015) Kulasekara, N.
Afro-Sri Lankans (also known as Kaffirs or Kapiri) are a very small ethnic group in Sri Lanka who are descendants of African workers and soldiers brought to the island by Portuguese and British colonists. The research was focused on identifying the nature of this language and studies it linguistically. The majority of the words found in the songs sung by members the Afro-Sri Lankan community in Puttalam. The other Afro– Sri Lankan communities living in Trincomalee and Kalpitya were also included in this study. The research included data from approximately 50 male and female participants who volunteered from these communities. The research instruments used in this research were speech recordings and interviews. The Puttalam and Kalpitiya communities are the descendants of African soldiers and domestic slaves of Portuguese colonists. Those in the Trincomalee community are the descendants of African colonial soldiers from the British Royal Forces. The ancestors of these Africans were brought to Sri Lanka during two different eras by two different colonists. Only the communities living in Puttalam and Kalpitya use this language in their songs called the African Manja. Some scholars have identified their language as a Sri Lankan Portuguese Creole. Some of the Portuguese Burghers living in the Batticoloa District in Sri Lanka use the Sri Lankan Portuguese Creole as their second or home language. The Afro-Sri Lankans use it only in their songs. The research proved that the variety of the Portuguese creole used in Puttalam and Kalpitiya is a mixture of Portuguese and Sinhala words. The Portuguese Creole used in Batticoloa by the Portuguese Burghers is Portuguese mixed with Tamil words, leaving slight differences in lexicography and pronunciation. The Afro-Sri Lankan community living in Trincomalee is descend from British colonial subjects who had no access to the Portuguese language and do not know the language at all. The language data was analyzed based on a structural theoretical framework. The research finding was documented and preserved for future research and references.