Imagining the Future of English Studies in Sri Lanka

Abstract

The submission is a speech made at the launch of Arbiters of a National Imaginary: Essays on Sri Lanka - a Festschrift for Professor Ashley Halpé edited by Chelva Kanaganayakam. The speech begins with a tribute to Professor Ashley Halpé, followed by a methodological perspective when examining the festschrift. While it does not technically review the articles in the book, it however discusses their significance for contemporary disciplinary practices of English Studies in Sri Lanka. The objective of the speech, therefore, is to argue for a paradigm shift in English Studies when engaging with the specificities of the Sri Lankan context, which would necessarily involve a consideration of the interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary directions of English, as well as the political and ethical needs of the local situation.