Blogue

                                                                      The Department of English of the University of Kelaniya is a stalwart space of knowledge, guidance and empowerment amid politically turbulent and ideologically stagnant realities that seek to centralize intellect and politics to the dominant ideologies. Situated within an integrated ambience of critical postmodernist and feminist sentiments, the Department of English enables self-empowerment and refinement of its students through the variety of courses offered through its General and Honours degree programmes. These courses prepare students for a life of critical engagement with the world around them while encouraging self-reflexivity and self-actualization. Courses in the first year of the General Degree programme offer compulsory modules s...

  Dazzling lights. Stunning dresses and suits. Good food. Good music. And last but not least, a good time. These are the things that make up the ESA Bash, the most awaited and the most glamorous event of the Department of English, University of Kelaniya. The ESA Bash, which is annually organized, is yet another fine product of the English Students’ Association of the English Department. Hosted typically in the university premises with the participation of the staff, lecturers and the students of the department, it is a night where everyone enjoys themselves without a doubt. Interestingly, the ESA Bash is not just any event; like everything else we do at the department, it has got a meaningful purpose behind its existence. Thus, the crux of the ESA Bash constitutes of two purposes. The first reason is to give the freshers of the department a warm welcome. Being a fresher is an intimidating experience where everything is an unfamiliar and a new experience. Hence, this event is orga...

 “I don’t know. What do you think?”  “Can someone comment on that?”  “Let’s have a discussion!” The moment my consciousness is being evoked and the moment my perspective is validated within what I learn, had never sounded as liberating, empowering or validating to me, and my existence as a student suffering from what I call passive-learner’s-syndrome, before I entered the Department of English. In fact, it sounded threatening to my whole existence as a student educated in the banking system of education. The first time I was asked to give my opinion in front of the whole classroom, it was a moment of silence, wandering where to find the perfect answer the teacher expected, or the answer the teacher would later fill your brain with, or, the answer I was supposed to remember to repeat when asked. A moment of unease and terror. As a first year student at the Department of English, this was my initial reaction to being exposed into a circle where my opinion as a student was n...