After the brutal ending to a nearly three decades long civil war between the Tamil minorities in and the Sri Lankan state in 2009, the South Asian island has ushered in a new era of postcolonial nation building. Unlike other post-war societies where the end of conflicts is euphemistically marked by peace treaties or truth commissions, there has been no institutionalized setup to address the crimes committed during the last phases of the military offenses against the Tamil insurgents in the North of the island. Despite the lack of these institutional responses, or precisely for this reason, Sri Lanka has witnessed a prolific output of Anglophone literature in the form of novels, reportages, and works of life writing since the end of the conflict. This seminar introduces the literary as well as cultural discourses surrounding post-war Sri Lanka through three novels and a selection of stories.
Shankari Chandran, Song of the Sun God (2017)
Niromi de Soyza, Tamil Tigress (2013)
Shehan Karunatilaka, The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida (2022)
essay(s) (2000 words) for 3 ECTS, additional term paper (6000 words) for 6 ECTS
