Royal Asiatic Society Sri Lanka will hold its Annual Research Conference from March 22 to 24
Starting life before any of the modern Universities in Ceylon were established, the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka, founded in 1845, is the oldest academic society in Sri Lanka. Modelled after similar societies in Britain and India, the RASSL has through the years played a major role in the academic and social life in the country. Over the years its members have held important positions and have actively contributed to the academic debate prevailing in the country.
In its prime, the RASSL helped establish important major institutions in the country. These included the Colombo National Museum, the Departments of Archaeology, the National Archives, the Geology Department, Meteorology, Statistics, the University of Ceylon, the Historical Manuscripts Commission
and the Sinhalese Dictionary. The RASSL pioneered the studies on the Mahavamsa, archaeology and heritage, Toponymy, the etymology of the Sinhalese language, research into and translation of Portuguese and Dutch archives, Maldivian studies, and the translations of the Pali Buddhist commentaries into English and later into Sinhala. The RASSL collection of books, so carefully preserved, is second to none and is open even on weekends to members and serious readers.
Members of the academic community have made the RASSL Annual Research Conference an academic forum to present their research. This year there were 289 abstracts submitted, of which after peer review 106 were approved to be presented at the Research Conference.
The RASSL that has been in existence for 173 years will host the 11th Annual Research Conference of the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka on 22nd, 23rd, and 24th March 2018.
The theme chosen for the conference this year is, “Heritage, Culture and Sri Lankan Society” and papers were invited under the following sub-themes, nheritage, Culture and Archaeology n Language, Education and Communications n Nutrition, Health and Medical Practices nscience, Technology and Indigenous knowledge systems naesthetic and Social Values nphilosophy and Psychology
The Conference is open to members of the RASSL and the General Public, on registration and Conditions do exist.