LMS, Faculty of Arts, University of Colombo

Advanced Agricultural Geography 

Name of Lecturer(s) : Mr. Mohamed Faslan

                                        Course Description

Learning outcomes:

On the successful completion of the course student will be able to:

Name of Lecturer(s) : TBA

Name of Lecturer(s) : Mr. D.M. Karunadasa

Compulsory
Same as GYG 1102

This course is on how children learn language and through that, learn how to become full members of our society. We talk about the following: 

What does the brain do when learning languages? 

How do children learn so many different languages during childhood? 

How does society and culture influence how children learn language? 

And in the last part of the course, we choose a few topics that you prefer to study in the course. 

Name of Lecturer(s) : Dr. Ajith Balasooriya

This course unit begins with the legacies of the 19th century but quickly develops into an exploration of Chinese socio-cultural, economic and political transformation in the 20th century.

Name of Lecturer(s) : H.U.S Samaraweera

Optional

Name of Lecturer : Lecturer Chalika Thangaraja

Teaching Staff :  Lecturer Chalika Thangaraja, Mr. Krishan Siriwardhane 

Name of Lecturer(s) : Ms. M.O. Perera

Compulsory

Sri Lanka’s contemporary politics is dominated by the events and developments connected to the conflict and peace processes.

The ethnic conflict, the civil war and armed insurgencies, failed attempts at peace through negotiation, external mediation, political and economic dimensions of both conflict and peace are some of the key dimensions of these processes.

Sri Lanka’s conflict and peace processes is also the subject of a growing body of academic research and theorizing, particularly in the field of conflict and peace studies.

This course is designed to raise the understanding of students of these issues with an exposure to the growing body of academic literature.

Name of Lecturer(s) : Miss.D.M.Chandradas

SOC 4174 Contemporary Rural Society

Instructor: Geethika Dharmasinghe Classroom: SOC 294

g.dharmasinghe@soc.cmb.ac.lk Class Times: Mon. 11-12pm, Tues. 8-10am

Office: 630. TA:

Office Hours: TU 10-12pm or by appointment. 

Course Description

Urban rural divide is gradually losing its significance due to national, international and global tendencies. Contemporary rural societies have undergone many changes in demographic, economic, social and political terms. Yet, rural societies continue to have some of their own peculiarities and identities that are of a sociological significance. This course will guide students through relevant literature, focusing primarily on Sri Lanka and India. 

Course Objectives 

• Develop a comprehensive understanding of the transformative changes occurring in rural societies.

• Explore and analyze prevalent social issues within rural communities.

• Familiarize oneself with theoretical frameworks for examining and interpreting rural societies.

Readings 

There are no books to be purchased for this course. All readings are book chapters and journal articles that can be downloaded from the course page on LMS under the “Week Module” folder. Required films can be watched on your computer from the course under the “Week Module” folder. 

Grading-Labor Contract

This course will be taught on two tracks. Background material on theoretical categories such as rurality, culture, and integration will be presented in lectures, while discussions will focus on the readings. Attendance at lectures is required. Please bring the relevant text to each discussion.

Attendance 5%: This portion of your grade will depend on your contribution to the class environment and will be assessed based on your engagement with lectures and discussion sessions. This means: engagement in discussions, presentations, listening to your peers and incorporating/building off their insights in your own comments, being prepared for class and formulating questions about the readings and lectures. Regular attendance at the standard class meetings. In other words, attendance at all classes is expected. Each student is entitled to up to 2 vacation/sick days (a week!). Use them as you wish, but be mindful of the fact that you are not entitled to be absent beyond these two days for any reason other than one conveyed to me by the University administration. I recommended saving these days for later in the semester when you will be busy and/or sick. Absence for more than two classes will result in losing this portion of your grade. 

Reading Responses (RR) 15%: Submit 300-word reading responses 8 times during the semester. These should engage with the assigned readings and may follow one of two formats, or a combination of both.

a. Identify a “golden line” or quotation that you believe is significant and reflects the

author's major point(s). You will then note why it is an important point (contextualize it), and finally raise any comments, questions, or disagreements with the author that you may have. 

b. Alternately, you can structure your response around a challenging question, very brief personal story, or a visual that you are reminded of (e.g. photograph). You should show how you understand the author’s main arguments or points, and what you find provocative, challenging, difficult, or affirming. What do the readings and your story, question or visual inspire you to do or think about?

RRs are preparation for discussion, not freestanding assignments. Always bring the relevant text to discussion. The response needs to engage with the readings and ask an analytical (not yes/no) question. It must end with a question that can generate productive conversations. It is necessary to demonstrate through your response that you have read/watched and understood the material assigned. 

Mid-term (5-pp.): 20% : Comparative Essay Prompt will be provided during the 6th week. 

Final exam: 60% 

Course Schedule (Subject to Modification) 

Week 1:            Introduction/Syllabus/Class Schedule

(6/11-12) Introduction to Rural Society

Week 2:   Agrarian Studies in Sociology: The Origin of Rural Sociology  

(5/18-19) Buttel, F. H. 2001. Rural Sociology. In Knowledge, Sociology of International 

Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Knowledge, Sociology of. eds. Smelser, Neil J. and Paul B. Baltes. Vol. 12: 13429-13433.  

https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/applied-and-social-sciences-magazines/rural-society

Week 03: Agrarian Question 

(5/25-26) Reading Response [RR 01]: Agrarian Question. Mohanty. BB. eds. 2016. 

Introduction. In Critical Perspectives on Agrarian Transition. India in the Global Debate. Pp.1-40. New York: Routledge. 

Optional Reading: https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/applied-and-social-sciences-magazines/rural-society.

Transformation of Sri Lanka’s Agrarian Structure

Week 04:  (6/1-2) Reading Response [RR 02]: Shanmugaratnam, N. 1985. Colonial Agrarian  Changes and Underdevelopment. In Capital and Peasant Production: Studies 

in the Continuity and Discontinuity of Agrarian Structures in Sri Lanka. Charles Abeysekera, ed. Pp. 1-21. Colombo: Social Scientists’ Association of Sri Lanka. 

Week 05: (6/8-9) Reading Response [RR 03]: Gunasinghe, Newton. 1996. Agrarian Relations in the Kandyan Countryside in Relation to the Concept of 

Extreme Social Disintegration. In Newton Gunasinghe: Selected Essays. Sasanka Perera, ed. Pp. 74-109. Colombo: Social Scientists’ Association of Sri Lanka. 

Week 06: Reading: Jayawardena, Kumari., 2000. Introduction. Nobodies to Somebodies. (6/15-16) Colombo: Social Scientist Association. 

In class: Watch Baddegama 

In your own time: A Panjabi Village

A Village in India

Peaceful Sri Lanka

Workshop: Analyzing an Article 

Week 07: Agrarian Change and the State 

(6/22-23) Reading Response [RR 04]: Brow, James. 1992. Agrarian Change and The 

Struggle for Community in Kukulewa, Anuradhapura District. In Agrarian Change in Sri Lanka. James Brow and Joe Weeramunda, eds. Pp. 261-292.  New Delhi: Sage Publishers. 

Week 08: The State and the Peasant Ideology

(6/29-30)  Moore, Mick. 1989. The Ideological History of the Sri Lankan 'Peasantry'. Modern Asian Studies. Vol. 23 (1): 179-207. 

Mid-term Due

Week 09: The Role of Kinship and Caste in Rural Societies

(7/6-7) Reading Response [RR 05]: Tudor Silva, Kalinga. 1992. Capitalist 

Development, Rural Politics and Peasant Agriculture in Highland Sri Lanka: Structural Change in a Low Caste Village. In Agrarian Change in Sri Lanka. James Brow and Joe Weeramunda, eds. Pp. 63-94. New Delhi: Sage Publishers. 

The Evolution of Villages in Sri Lanka

Week 10: Settlements in Rural Societies 

(7/13-14) Reading Response [RR 06]: Wickramasekera, Piyasiri. 1985. The Mahaweli 

Development Programme, Agrarian Change and the Peasantry. In Capital and Peasant Production: Studies in the Continuity and Discontinuity of Agrarian Structures in Sri Lanka. ed., Charles Abeysekera. Pp. 83-95. Colombo: Social Scientists’ Association of Sri Lanka. 

Optional Reading: Kelegama, Thiruni and Korf, Benedikt. 2023. Peasant Politics, Frontier Colonization and the Cunning State in Sri Lanka The lure of land. Modern Asian Studies, Vol.57 (6). https://sangam.org/peasant-politics-frontier-colonization-and-the-cunning-state-in-sri-lanka/

Week 11: Land Tenure, Kinship and Land 

(7/20-21) Reading Response [RR 07]: Moore, Mick. 1985. Land Reform. In The 

State and Peasant Politics in Sri Lanka. Pp.50-85. London: Cambridge University Press.

Week 12: Changes in Sri Lankan Rural Economy 

(7/27-28) Reading Response [RR 08]: de Silva, S. B. D. 1985. Plantation and Underdevelopment. In Capital and Peasant Production. Studies in the Continuity and Discontinuity of Agrarian Structures in Sri Lanka. Charles Abeysekera. ed. Pp. 21-33. Colombo: Social Scientists’ Association. 

Guest Lecture: Shiran Illanperuma  

Week 13: Social Change in Rural Sri Lanka

(8/3-4) Reading Response [RR 09]: Barrie M. Morrison, M.P. Moore, and M.U. Ishak Lebbe. eds. 1979. Introduction. In The Disintegrating Village: Social Change in Rural Sri Lanka. Pp. 1-42. Colombo: Lake House Investments LTD. 

Week 14: Gam Udawa: Rural Community and the State  

(8/10-11) Reading Response [RR 10]: Woost, Michael. 1993. On the Road to 

Wellassa: The Changing ‘State’ of the Frontier. Pravada. Pp. 27-29.

Guest Lecture: Prof. Pradeep Jeganathan 

Optional Reading: Woost, Michael. 1993. Nationalizing the Local Past in Sri Lanka: Histories of Nation and Development in a Sinhalese Village American Ethnologist, Vol. 20 (3): 502-521. 

Name of Lecturer(s) : Anuradha Senanayake

Name of Lecturer(s) : Mr. D.M.D. Dissanayake

Compulsory for Special Degree Students in PSC

Compulsory for Demography Special Degree Students

Medium of Instruction: EM

Name of Lecturer(s) : Dr. K Amirthalingam

Compulsory

Name of Lecturer(s) : Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri

Name of Lecturer(s) : Mrs. A.K.C. Sewwandi

Compulsory for Special Degree Students in History

Medium of Instruction: EM
Name of Lecturer(s) :  Prof. Athula Ranasinghe
                                         Ms. Indiwaree

Stream Compulsory
(ETA)

Medium of Instruction: EM
Name of Lecturer(s) :Dr. D C P Aluthge

Stream Compulsory (FB)

Medium of Instruction: EM
Name of Lecturer(s) :Visiting

Stream Compulsory (TECS)

Name of Lecturer : Prof. Iresha Lakshman

Not open for B.Ed. Students

මෙම විෂය සදහා ආර්ථික විද්‍යා පුර්ව දැනුමක් අවශ්‍ය නොවේ. පිඨයේ සියලුම සිසුන් සදහා මෙම විෂය හැදෑරිය හැකිය.  විෂය සිංහල හා ඉංග්‍රීසි යන ද්වී භාෂාවෙන්ම ඉදිරිපත් කෙරෙන අතර  සියලුම Powerpoint slides  හා සියලුම පත්‍රිකා මාධ්‍ය භාෂා දෙකෙන්ම ලබා දෙනු ඇත.  

Lecturer: Dr. Sasini T.K. Kulatunga 

Name of Lecturer(s) : Dr. R.U.K. Piyadasa

Name of Lecturer(s) : Ms. Fareena Ruzaik

Name of Lecturer(s) : Hasith Kandaudahewa

Lecturer Profile: https://www.res.cmb.ac.lk/ir/hasith.kandaudahewa/

Student Consultation

https://www.res.cmb.ac.lk/ir/hasith.kandaudahewa/index.php/teaching

Compulsory for Special Degree Students
Pre requisite INR 2119
This course will cover a board spectrum of issues such as the continuity and change in the conduct of Sri Lanka’s foreign policy under different regimes.

Course description:

This course aims to provide a basic knowledge of the French language in the forms of speaking, listening, reading and writing. In addition to the language skills, which will be enhanced through a range of text, role-play and audio-visual activities, students will gain an insight into the culture of French-speaking communities through the study of a range of texts. The topics covered would provide a context in which students develop their linguistic as well as cultural knowledge and understanding of the French language.

No. of Credits: 3

Pre-requisites:

This course is open only for students with no prior knowledge of the French language. It is not open for students who have taken French for GCE (A/L) examination or equivalent

Name of Lecturer(s) : Dr. Fara Haniffa

Optional

Name of Lecturer(s) : All staff

Compulsory

GYG 4292

Name Lecturer(s) - Prof. Sunethra Perera / Ms. Neranjala Sumathipala
Assistant Lecturer - Ms. Madhavi Bandara

Course Description

This course provides the students with sound knowledge on Health Demography. It examines measures and theories in relation to Health Demography and further examines determinants and differentials of health, and focuses on health issues and policy responses.

Medium of Instruction: EM

Name of Lecturer(s) : 
Prof Amala De Silva.
Ms. Ashani Fernando

Optional

Name of Lecturer(s) : Mrs. N. Wijegoonawardena

This course gives students a survey of the history of the English language from the 5thcentury up to the 21stcentury. The course aims to introduce students to the development of the English language with dynamic interaction with its socio-historic context within and outside Britain.

Name of Lecturer(s) : Mr. Indrajith Aponsu

Name of Co-Course Lecturer(s) : Hasith Kandaudahewa

Lecturer Profile: https://www.res.cmb.ac.lk/ir/hasith.kandaudahewa/

Student Consultation

https://www.res.cmb.ac.lk/ir/hasith.kandaudahewa/index.php/teaching

This course unit is compulsory for those who wish to read for the four year special degree programme in International Relations. This course unit examines the practices or “praxis” of International Relations.

Name of Lecturer(s) : Dr. Maneesha S Wanasinghe Pasqual

This course unit presents students with an in depth introduction to the evolving concept of ‘Human Security’