Dr Harini Amarasuriya

Nominated Fellow

Dr Harini Amarasuriya

Nominated Fellow, April - June 2019

Home institution: The Open University of Sri Lanka             

Project: Dissent in Sri Lanka

I am currently working on an ERC funded project The Anthropology of Conscience, Human Rights and Ethics, with colleagues from the Department of Anthropology at the University of Edinburgh and National University of Singapore.  The project looks at the social life of the idea of conscience as it emerged in the twentieth century, and especially as it was used in the mid-century development of human rights institutions and human rights practice. My involvement in the project looks at the life of left-wing dissidents in Sri Lanka from the 1960s to the early 1990s, particularly those who were part of lesser known groups and movements that emerged at various moments during the 30 year civil war. 

My research while at IASH will be focussing on the women’s movement and the influence of radical Christians on dissent in Sri Lanka.  I am exploring ideas of intimacy and relationships, and its place in times of extraordinary violence and oppression.