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Thursday, 11 OctoberPreconference on Sri Lankan Cinema and Its DiasporaSponsored by the American Institute for Sri Lankan Studies, this preconference calls attention to a group of films largely concerned with the Sri Lankan armed conflict. This event will feature the most recent manifestations of a film movement called the "third revolution," whose concerns have revolved around the socio-political transformations brought about by three decades of civil war. Together this new wave of filmmakers represented by Pradeepan Raveendran, Suba Sivakumaran, and Sanjeewa Pushpakumara capture a complex profile of contemporary cinema from Sri Lanka and the diaspora.Location: University Room, The Madison Concourse HotelTentative Schedule1:00-1:05 Introduction by Jeanne Marecek (Swarthmore College)1:05-1:20 Opening Remarks by Nalin Jayasena (Miami University)1:20-1:35 Pradeepan Raveendra, A Mango Tree in the Front Yard (11 min).Set in war-ravaged Sri Lanka and filmed in South India, this short film centers on a group of Tamil schoolchildren for whom violence is an everyday reality.1:35-1:45 Preaddepan Raveendran, Shadows of Silence (11 min.)A middle-aged Tamil man living in exile with his young family contemplates numerous ways to commit suicide.1:45-2:00 Suba Sivakumaran, I Too Have a Name (12 min.)A Tamil woman, living with the memory of pain, goes about her daily existence as a nun in the ravaged northeast of Sri Lanka at a time when her country is slipping in and out of war. As the world around her continues to be made and unmade by violence, she carves out a small space to breathe and to find power and meaning in her life.2:00-2:30 A conversation with Suba Sivakumaran2:30-3:00 Tea Break3:00-5:10 Sanjeewa Pushpakumara, Flying Fish (125 min.)Shot in a seemingly idyllic village by the first-time director Sanjeewa Pushpakumara, this startlingly assured film follows three interwoven stories (two Sinhala and one Tamil) involving forbidden love and ethnic tension. The languid pace of the villagers belies the hostility that has built over quarter century of warfare.5:15-6:30 Roundtable discussion (Neloufer de Mel, Suba Sivakumaran, and Nalin Jayasena)Friday 12 October8:30-10:15 a.m: Governance, Politics, Corruption and Sustainable Development in Sri LankaStanley W. Samarasinghe, Tulane UniversityGood Governance, Corruption and Regime Legitimacy in Sri LankaVidyamali Samarasinghe, American UniversityImpact of Corruption on Women's Political Participation in Sri LankaNeil DeVotta, Wake Forest UniversityJustice Undermined: Political Interference and Judicial Corruption in Sri LankaDerek Marshall, Tulane UniversityQuality Education for All: Equality of Opportunity and Corruption in Sri Lanka's K-12 Education 8:30-10:15a.m.: Becoming "good" subjects: ethics, values, and agency from South Asian transnational perspectivesAnnelies Goger, University of North Carolina at Chapel HillGender-based Norms, Moral Authorities, and Disarticulations of Discourses in Ethical CodesBernardo Brown, Cornell UniversityWhy can't values be discussed? The Ethical dimensions of Transnationalism for Sri Lankans10:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.:Everyday Occupations: Experiencing Militarism in South AsiaSharika Thiranagama, Stanford UniversityFrom Containment to Cantonment: Remilitarizing Northern Sri Lanka1:45-3:30 p.m.: Mural Paintings, War Imagery, and Roadside Shrines: War and Visual Culture in Sri Lanka (Part 1)Dennis  McGilvray, University of Colorado, BoulderArt of Resistance: Student Murals on the Parapet Walls of Batticaloa, Sri LankaVivian Choi, Cornell UniversityWhen the Camera Lies: Imaging War in Sri LankaSujatha  Meegama, Nanyang Technological University, SingaporePraying on the A9: Patrons and Artisans of Roadside Shrines to Ganesha in Northern Sri Lanka3:45-5:30 p.m.: Dance Practice, Rap Performance, and Film Aesthetics:War and Visual Culture in Sri Lanka Part 2Lisa Weems, Miami UniversityM.I.A.: Border Crossing and Transnational Girlhood StudiesNalin Jayasena, Miami UniversityBetween the Spectral and the Spectacle: The Aesthetics of the Body in Asoka Handagama's This is My MoonAhalya Satkunaratnam, University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignDance-making, Peacemaking: Dance and Performance in Post-War Sri LankaSaturday, October 13,8:30-10:15 a.m.: Getting PersonalDhana Hughes, University of OxfordThe Violence of Youth: Narratives of Former Insurgents in Southern Sri LankaMihirini Sirisena, University of EdinburghWhat was the name again? Address forms and their implications among ayyas and nangis in loveSidharthan  Maunaguru, University of EdinburghTransnational marriages Transit Places and Tamil communities10:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.: Democracy in South Asia: Looming Danger of Reverse Wave?Arjun  Guneratne, Macalester CollegeAuthoritarianism, constitution-making and the demise of a liberal political system in Sri Lanka10:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.: Girlscapes of Globalizing South Asia: The Guardians of GirlsSandya Hewamanne, Wake Forest UniversityPolicing, Surveillance and Punishment for "Crisis of Love and Sex" among Sri Lanka's Global Workers10:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.: Making Merit, Fortifying the Nation: Ritual Currencies of Buddhist Nationalism in Sri LankaDaniel Kent, Whitman CollegeProtecting the Order: History and Nationalism in the Sri Lankan Army's Annual Flag Blessing CeremonyNalika Gajaweera, University of California, IrvineEnacting the Goodness of the Nation: Buddhist giving and humanitarianism in Sri LankaNeena Mahadev, Johns Hopkins UniversityAn Emergent and Contested Theravāda Buddhist Messianism1:45-3:30 p.m.: The Lessons of Ronit Ricci's "Islam Translated" for the Study of Sri Lanka and South AsiaAnne Blackburn, Cornell UniversityTraces of Circulation: Lanka/Sihala in Mainland Southeast Asian Buddhist Literary Production, 1300-1600Charles Hallisey, Harvard University'Cosmopolis' as a Critical Term for the Historical Study of Sri Lanka and South AsiaJonathan Spencer, University of EdinburghIslam Translated, Lanka Decentred: Reflections on history and ethnographyRonit Ricci, Australian National UniversityFrom Java to Jaffna: on Malay history and writing in Sri Lanka1:45-3:30 p.m.: Girlscapes in Globalizing South Asia: On the Vicissitudes of Doing Girl DifferentlyJeanne Marecek, Swarthmore CollegeChandanie  Senadheera, Ruhuna Medical Faculty (co-author)Recuperating Respectability: Sri Lankan Daughters and Mothers in the Aftermath of Self-HarmSunday, October 14, 8:30-10:15 a.m.8:30-10:15 a.m.: Cities, Space and InfrastructureNihal Perera, Ball State University (Chair) People's Spaces: Familiarizing Colonial ColomboSanjeewani Habarakada , Ball State University A World Heritage: The Inhabitants' Galle Fort10:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.: Law, Society and ViolenceAri Ariyaratne, Heartland Community College / College of DuPage Community and Disunity: Competing Discourses of Authority and Belonging in a Sri Lankan Village10:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.: Music and Changing Social ContextsGarrett Field, Wesleyan University Situating Sinhala Song in Twentieth Century Sri Lankasource: AISLS