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The American Institute for Sri Lankan Studies (AISLS) was established in 1995
to foster excellence in American research and teaching on Sri Lanka, and to
promote the exchange of scholars and scholarly information between the United States and
Sri Lanka. The Institute serves as the professional association for US-based
scholars and other professionals who are interested in Sri Lanka. There are
about 90 individual members, who are drawn primarily from social sciences
and humanities disciplines, including anthropology, development studies,
education, history, geography, linguistics, literature and drama, performance
studies and ethnomusicology, political science, psychology, religious
studies, sociology, and women's studies. There are also 16 institutional
members.
AISLS activities are divided into four programs.
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1. Fellowships and Grants |
AISLS fellowships support two to nine months of research in Sri Lanka by US citizens
who already hold a PhD or the equivalent at the time they begin their
fellowship tenure. Both scholars with little or no experience in Sri Lanka as well as specialists are encouraged to
apply for a fellowship. The AISLS also offers smaller grants for predissertation study in
Sri Lanka, for language instruction in Sri Lanka, and for graduate student attendence at conferences.
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2. Support for Research in Sri Lanka |
The AISLS center in Sri Lanka
sponsors activities that promote collaboration between visiting US scholars
and Sri Lankans, including a workshop program.
AISLS also has a library that concentrates on new scholarly publications and on a
broad range of reference materials. Its catalog is included in the
Digital Library for International Research. These
activities receive support through grants from the US Department of Education
and the US Department of State.
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3. Support for Sri Lankan Studies in the United States |
The AISLS promotes collaboration and the flow of information among US-based
scholars and professionals interested in Sri Lanka. It operates a closed
listserve that enables its members to exchange information and make contacts
for conference panels. It also sponsors periodic workshops that bring
together scholars interested in a particular theme. The AISLS center in Sri Lanka also supplies AISLS members
with copies of research materials not available in the United States. The
AISLS holds its annual general meeting at the Annual
Conference on South Asia, which takes place
each October in Madison, Wisconsin.
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4. Preservation and Dissemination of Research Information and Materials
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At present, the AISLS maintains a Directory of Reseach Centers in Sri
Lanka and supports
the provision of information to the International Directory of South Asia
Scholars.
The AISLS is also developing programs to preserve and disseminate
important research materials.
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Officers
(Term expiration is noted in
parentheses.)
President
(2010)
Harvard/University of Wisconsin—Madison
Vice-President
Jonathan Spencer;
(2010)
Edinburgh University
Treasurer
(2010)
Franklin W. Olin College
of Engineering
Secretary
(2009)
Western Kentucky University
Past President
(2010)
Swarthmore College
Elected Directors
Darshan Ambalavanar (2010)
University of Toronto
Daniel Bass (2008)
Florida Atlantic University
Bambi Chapin (2008)
University of Maryland-Baltimore
County
Arjun Guneratne (2008)
Macalester College
John Holt (2010)
Bowdoin College
Deborah Winslow (2008)
University of New Hampshire/
National Science Foundation
Institutional Members and Appointed Representatives
Arizona State University
Juliane Schober
Colgate University
John Ross Carter
Columbia University
Valentine Daniel
Cornell
Anne Blackburn
The ISLE Consortium
Ed Gilday
Johns Hopkins University
Anand Pandian
Northwestern University
George Bond
University of California--Berkeley
Pradeep Chhibber
University of Chicago
Steven Collins
University of Michigan
Ashutosh Varshney
University of Pennsylvania
Guy Welbon
University of Texas--Austin
Patrick Olivelle
University of Virginia
H.L. Seneviratne
University of Washington
Keith Snodgrass
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Mary Rader
Yale University
Phyllis Granoff
Listserve Director
Michele Gamburd
Portland State University
Resident Agent
Caitrin Lynch
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