Malathi de Alwis (6th Oct 1963-21 Jan 2021, also known as Mala de Alwis) was a Sri Lankan anthropologist. She taught at the International Centre for Ethnic Studies and the
Faculty of Graduate Studies at the
University of Colombo
(Buddhih Sarvatra Bhrajate)
, mottoeng = ''Wisdom Enlightens''
, established =
, endowment = LKR 1.461 billion . She wrote about militarism, nationalism and feminism.
Career
De Alwis earned her PhD in
socio-cultural anthropology
Cultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans. It is in contrast to social anthropology, which perceives cultural variation as a subset of a posited anthropological constant. The portm ...
from the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
, where she was a founding member of the Women Against War Coalition and a winner of the Ruth Murray Memorial Prize for Best Essay in Gender Studies.
De Alwis was a senior research fellow at the International Centre for Ethnic Studies in
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...
, Sri Lanka. She also taught as a visiting professor at
The New School
The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...
in New York City.
She also taught in the MA Program in Women's Studies at the
Faculty of Graduate Studies,
University of Colombo
(Buddhih Sarvatra Bhrajate)
, mottoeng = ''Wisdom Enlightens''
, established =
, endowment = LKR 1.461 billion .
She wrote about feminist issues such as militarised sexual violence and the memorialisation of grief.
Writing with
Kumari Jayawardena, she explored how traditional perspectives in gender can become fixed during times of conflict, commenting "fundamentalism uses women's bodies as a battlefield in its struggle to appropriate institutional power".
In 2014, de Alwis produced an exhibition with photographer Sharni Jayawardena called "Invoking The Goddess: Pattini-Kannaki Devotion in Sri Lanka" at the
India International Centre in
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...
.
Selected works
Books
*''Feminists Under Fire: Exchanges Across War Zones''. Co-edited with
Wenona Giles, Edith Klein & Neluka Silva. Toronto: Between the Lines (2003). (This vol. has been translated into Serbian/Bosnian/Croatian, Sinhala & Tamil).
*''Casting Pearls: The Women's Franchise Movement in Sri Lanka''. With Kumari Jayawardena. Colombo: Social Scientists' Association, 2001.
*''Cat's Eye: A Feminist Gaze on Current Issues''. Colombo: Social Scientists' Association, 2000.
*''Embodied Violence: Communalising Women's Sexuality in South Asia''. Co-edited with Kumari Jayawardena. Delhi: Kali for Women/London: Zed Press, 1996.
Articles
*
*
*"Feminism" in ''A Companion to the Anthropology of Politics'', eds. Joan Vincent and David Nugent. Boston: Blackwell, 2004.
*"Beyond Gender: Towards a Feminist Analysis of Humanitarianism and Development in Sri Lanka" in ''Women's Studies Quarterly'', Vol. XXXI: 3&4, Fall/Winter 2003. With Jennifer Hyndman.
Sources
External links
Personal webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:de Alwis, Malathi
Feminist studies scholars
Sri Lankan anthropologists
Sri Lankan feminists
University of Chicago alumni
Multicultural feminism
Academic staff of the University of Colombo
Sri Lankan women scientists
The New School faculty