International Postgraduate Research Conference (IPRC)
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Item Subversive Others; Sexuality, Ethnicity, And Violence in Five Sri Lankan Novels in English(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Ambahelagedara, N.(Hetero)Sexuality seems to play a highly important role in Sri Lankan society, but it is a topic that is deliberately avoided in discussions that take place within “polite circles”. It is for the most part invisible or made to be seen as non-existent by a “norm-governed” society, which considers heterosexuality to be the “ideal” form of sexuality. In terms of ethnicity, again the impact of the ideologies of the dominant ethnic groups on other ethnicities of the country is substantial. In the process of taking measures to make Sri Lanka an essentially “Sinhala- Buddhist” country, other ethnic groups have been pushed to the margins. Today, these “ethnic and sexual others” are engaged in a constant battle of searching for an accepted identity within Sri Lanka. Some of the Sri Lankan writers in English have endeavoured to form a space within their work in order to express the “undiscussed” theme of sexuality, including those sexualities that are considered “heretical”. The Moon in the Water by Ameena Hussein, Giraya by Punyakante Wijenaike, Funny Boy by Shyam Selvadurai, The Jam Fruit Tree by Carl Muller, and Servants: A Cycle by Rajiva Wijesinha, which provide the basis for this study, are some of the Sri Lankan English novels that foreground “invisible spaces” such as sexuality. However, they are not confined to the theme of sexuality but illuminate the themes of ethnicity and violence as well. The boldness and honesty with which the authors address these issues on gender and sexuality have decidedly created a sense of awareness among the readership, as they attempt to create a space for those who are in the periphery, while providing an insight into the possible outcomes the “subversive other” would be subjected to. Hence, the objective of this study is to examine the ways in which such forms of violence are created, to show how these selected novels address the issues of sexuality, ethnicity, and violence and how transgressive sexualities and ethnic minorities threaten normative society and the status quo of the dominant groups.Item Women & Human Rights Violations in India: Focus on Manipur and Odisha(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2015) Mohapatra, P.The French Historian Michel Foucault highlights sexuality as a construct and presents its genealogical history. For him, sexuality is a mode by which one understands the exercise of power and how a certain kind of ‗sexual‘ subjectivity encourages the disciplinary mode of power. By crafting a certain kind of imagery for the female body and its sexual desires the woman is absorbed into the normative structure of society that is defined by patriarchy. Patriarchy is an endemic historical and cultural practice that exacts an all-encompassing hegemony. Moreover, Sylvia Walby defines Patriarchy ―as a system of social structures and practices in which men dominate, oppress and exploit women‖. When Walby uses the term social strucutes she is implying that this system of control, domination and oppression is not biologically determined. Contextually ‗Patriarchy‘ is based on a sytem of power relations which are hierarchical and unequal where men control women‘s production, reproduction and sexutality. Acceptance of traditional masculine gender roels in a patriarchal society is closely connected with escalating violence towards women. Several complex and interconnected institutionalized social and cultural factors have kept Indian women vulnerable to the violence directed at them, all of them manifestations of historically unequal power relations between men and women actors. Coming to north-eastern region there is an ongoing struggle by people trying to establish their right to autonomy which has led to political instability, strife and outright violence in the region. Ethnic conflict, arm conflicts, insurrection movement and issue of poverty and injustice is inextricably interlinked and have its impact on status of women. Although women in North-East India enjoy greater mobility and visibility than women of other communities in the country data collected by the North East Network suggests that violence against women is on the rise in the North-east. The ongoing armed conflict situation prevalent in the North East India has intensified the violence faced by women which takes the form of sexual, mental or physical abuse, killings and clashes. The region under the shadow of conflict has witnessed a resurgence of patriarchal values and norms which have brought with them new restrictions on the movement of women, the way they dress and more overtly physical violence such as rape which is systematically used as a tactics against a particular community. In this paper an attempt has been made to make a comparative study with the scenario in Odisha where the onset of liberalization has not helped the larger cause of gender sensitivity in any way. The National Crime Records Bureau has reported 6249 cases of violence against women including 799 rape cases, 547 abduction cases, 334 dowry deaths and 1671 cases of cruelty by husband and relatives of women in Odisha.Item The Difference of concepts of the societies of Pre-Media and Post-Media: Absence of a moral and ethical justice in Sexuality in online media society(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2015) Jinadasa, M.With the invention of mass media in the 18th century in the face of the Industrial Revolution, press media was a catalyst in providing a platform for many socially marginal groups and those with limited access to means of conducting social dialogues in conventional, non-democratic, capitalistic societies. The media oriented culture formed many post-media concepts and phenomena, such as freedom, media freedom, rule of law, democracy, liberty as well as liberty in sexual behaviors. Pre-media concepts like aesthetics, classics, philosophy, morals, and ethics were inadequate in understanding the occurrences and sensations of post-media society. This phenomenon is highly significant in contemporary online media culture. This study investigates the use of Google and Facebook in Sri Lanka with special reference to the rapidly expanding behavioral changes of sexuality shown in these online media channels. Despite the fact that Sri Lanka, which has long been a Buddhist religious society which claims to be highly moral and ethical in social inter-relations, online media has provided an easy outlet for enjoying a variety of sexual behaviors. Subsequently, online service providers such as Google, Yahoo, Facebook, and other forms of social media have been a place for a sexual freedom that provides more same-sex opportunities among interested groups. Further, communication connectivity and the information contribution of online service providers has provided avenues for a large amount of material content for pornographic and many audio-visual sexual texts. This study was conducted using qualitative methods of textual analysis, observation and in-depth interviews during a period of twelve months from June 2014 up to June 2015. Twenty textual analyses were conducted using selected sites of pornography in Google and Yahoo. Another twenty textual analyses were conducted using fake Facebook addresses to observe how others respond to close sexual communications. In addition, twenty in-depth interviews were conducted using Facebook users aged 18 to 24. Finally, this study assumes that though Buddhist religious societies have long been respected as morally and ethically reputed well-cultured societies, when they are given opportunities for interpersonal relations in the OSP channels, their hidden sexual interests are well-communicated without limitations or restrictions. However, conventional pre-media concepts of ethical and moral behaviors are insufficient to understand or explain these new behaviors or trends, which have emerged as a result of this new media culture. Thus, pre- media concepts of ethics and morals do not make pragmatic sense in the real world practice of the online media society. The role of the online service providers has been shaped by the identification of this natural social anthropology of highly religious cultures. In other words, these new media platforms are instrumental in exposing many inclinations of human behavior of sexual interest, thus, challenging the maintenance of conventional morals and ethics in the new media world.