Rejuvenating and Restructuring the Discipline of English Studies in Sri Lanka: A Concept Paper

Abstract

Since its inception as a discipline in the country, the various strands of English Studies7 in Sri Lankan universities have reflected, rejected, complemented and contradicted the historical needs and events of the nation as a whole. Above all, it has engaged with and is a significant aspect of the hybrid (Bhaba 1994), if not multibrid8 history and culture of Sri Lanka. As a teacher, scholar and practitioner of English, it is due to an extreme sense of frustration about the state of English Studies in the country today (discussed later on) that I have felt compelled to write this paper on restructuring the discipline. This is because I view the discipline as a living, evolving entity (as it can never be an end-product), that need to be constantly revised -- if it is to have meaning, relevance and validity to those who are part of it and those who pursue it. Consequently, my attempts at consciously re-conceptualizing English Studies have to be located not only in the internal developments, cross-fertilizations and advances within the discipline globally but also in the socio-political, cultural and economic currents of the ground situation in Sri Lanka. It is from this standpoint that this paper aims to take stock of the contemporary trends and triumphs of the discipline of English within the universities as well as to conceptualize its challenges and possibilities for the future.