Sachini Marasinghe (Sri Lanka)

I am an academic attached to the Department of English, University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka where I received my BA (First Class Honours) in English.

My undergraduate degree in English at the University of Peradeniya has given me a strong foundation in both literary and language studies but I found myself drawn to the realm of language in terms of my undergraduate dissertation and graduate studies.

I take great pleasure in examining language as a historical, anthropological, sociocultural, and educational phenomenon which is ever-present but also ever-changing. In my graduate work, I am keen on examining dictionaries as standard-bearers for language and looking into ways in which this can be scrutinised, questioned, and expanded. I intend to examine how specific words get included and excluded and the circumstances for such inclusion/exclusion. I seek to emphasise how linguistic inequalities propel more widespread inequalities and how we must all strive to mitigate these as much as possible. I am also keen on exploring new and innovative ways of language learning and teaching; particularly in multilingual contexts such as Sri Lanka.

The humanities, for me, signifies a field of learning that is essential to ensure the well-being of the whole of “humanity” as it enables us to study and better understand the most fundamental tenets of our existence. I am extremely grateful to the Ertegun programme for the opportunities it provides to humanities scholars at a time when funding in the field is woefully inadequate. I firmly believe that a cohort of emerging scholars working to actively strengthen the field of the humanities within the academe and elsewhere is of the utmost importance in current times.