AISLS - News and Information

The Furniture and Decorative Arts of Sri Lanka (FDASL) is an AISLS-sponsored documentary project that displays an inventory of furniture and other decorative arts that were created in Sri Lanka and are currently owned by Sri Lanka's cultural institutions and private collections. It consists of approximately 1,000 images of 400 unique items, photographed by the project's principal researcher, Ayesha Abdur-Rahman.

Eighteenth-century nedun and ebony storage chest, held by the National Museum of Sri Lanka in the Pettah.

Early nineteenth-century corner chair, held by the Lunuganga Trust at Geoffrey Bawa's former home in Lunuganga.

2009 Annual General Meeting

The 2009 Annual General Meeting was held at the Assembly Room, Concourse Hotel, Madison WI, on Saturday, October 24. Over 30 AISLS members and others interested in Sri Lanka gathered to renew links and create new ones.

2008 Annual General Meeting

The 2008 AISLS annual general meeting was devoted to honoring four senior members of AISLS -- James Brow, John Ross Carter, Jim Gair, and Donald Smith. The event also served as reunion for the 1967 summer session where Gair taught Sinhala to Brow, Carter and Smith. Judy Brow and Sandra Carter also participated in that course.

2008 AISLS Forum at the Association for Asian Studies, Atlanta

The AISLS forum at the annual meeting of the Association for Asian Studies featured a discussion of current events in Sri Lanka. Panelists included Barney Bate, Neloufer de Mel, Jeanne Marecek and Mark Whitaker.

From left to right: Jeanne Marecek, Barney Bate, Neloufer de Mel, Bambi Chapin, and Dennis McGilvray

2006 Conference on South Asia

The 2006 Annual Conference on South Asia had a special emphasis on Sri Lanka, and its program included over 50 academic presentations concerning the island. The AISLS sponsored a workshop on the films of Prasana Vithanage and a slideshow and talk by Abby Robinson on photography studios and film-making in Sri Lanka. The AISLS also co-sponsored the keynote address by Gananath Obeyesekere.

Participants at a lunch to honor Gananath Obeyesekere at the Annual Conference on South Asia, 2006. From left to right: Kaushik Ghosh, Susan Reed, Gananath Obeyesekere, Ranjani Obeyesekere, Bambi Chapin, Lauren Leve, Ernestine McHugh, Jonathan Spencer, Charles Hallisey, Janet Gyatso, Namika Raby, and Mark Whitaker.

2010 Fellowship Awards

Christina Davis (Anthropology, University of Michigan), "Mediating Difference: Shakthi TV Viewership Among Ethnic Minority Adolescents."
Susanne Mrozik (Religion, Mount Holyoke College), "The Buddhist Nuns' (Bhikkhuni) Revival in Sri Lanka."
Ronit Ricci (Literature, Australian National University), "The Sri Lankan Malays: Bridging Islam in South and Southeast Asia."

2010 Dissertation Planning Grant Awards

Bernardo Brown (Anthropology, Cornell University), "Unlikely Cosmopolitans: The Vernacular Modernity of Sri Lankan Return Migrants."
Victor Nemchenok (History, University of Virginia), "Contesting World Order: International Development and the Search for Justice."