The aim of the course is to explore why and how ethnicity has emerged as an important factor in shaping social processes, political dynamics, and social conflict in contemporary Sri Lanka. The discussion topics include the impact of ethnicity on electoral politics, conflict, democracy, governance, development, and reconciliation. The course begins with a conceptual discussion on ethnicity, identity politics, ethno-nationalism, and changing dynamics of ethnicity. This course provides an introduction to ethnicity and politics in Sri Lanka. The course is interdisciplinary in nature and explores how physical geography, human geography, social sciences, public policy, engineering, and ecology are all fundamental to managing coastal climate change risks for ecosystems and society. also, it will explore the core concepts including risk, vulnerability, and adaptation to coastal climate change, drawing on real life examples from Sri Lanka and around the world. This course examines the consequences of the climate changes on the Island and covers the management of coastal dynamics and the risks. semester credit hours)Ĭlimate Change Impacts in Tropical Ecology
This course provides a foundation to inspire students to become informed decision-makers and contribute towards the conservation of the world’s biodiversity. Though field visits, students gain in-depth knowledge of Sri Lanka’s flora and fauna-from rice and orchids, to junglefowl and elephants-and assess first-hand the impact of habitat destruction, human population growth, climate change, and other factors affecting biodiversity. The course focuses on one of the world’s 34 biodiversity hotspots, how it evolved, and its relationships with sustainable development and conservation in a case study of Sri Lanka. This course focuses on cultural heritage as the physically grounded and historically evolved patterns in the built environment, traditional practices, intangible concepts, and cultural landscapes. Students examine the development of cultural heritage management and its contemporary significance in Sri Lanka, while gaining experience with established documentation, assessment, and conservation practices of cultural heritage resources worldwide. With over 250,000 archaeological sites, present-day Sri Lanka represents the collective and diverse traditions of art, architecture, literature, and religion that have been practiced by numerous groups. Not all electives may be offered in a given semester depending on enrollment.Īrchaeology and Cultural Heritage Management semester credit hours)įundamentals of conversational and written Tamil for beginning students. Language instruction in colloquial Sinhala, emphasizing functional use of the language in contexts that students can be expected to encounter in daily life. It has two focuses: to equip students with essential communication skills, key words, and phrases, to engage in basic conversations, as well as build their ability to read basic signs and request emergency assistance and to promote students’ understanding of the local environment and culture in contemporary Sri Lanka and enhance their language skills in real world settings. Though language study (other than Essential Sinhala) is not required, students frequently report their language class as one of their favorites and the one they applied most outside the classroomĮssential Sinhala is taught intensively during the first two weeks of the semester for those students without a Sinhala language background.
semester credit hours.ĭeveloping skills in a foreign language can profoundly impact your life personally and professionally. Start your studies in Sri Lanka with the Essential Sinhala language class or other language elective and then select four to five IFSA classes for a total of 12-16 U.S.