Cartographies of Loss - Nimanthi Rajasingham - SAC

Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs, The South Asia Center present:

Nimanthi Rajasingham, Assistant Professor, English, Colgate University

Cartographies of Loss: International Tourism, Postwar Neoliberalism and the Vital Art of Thamotharamphillai Shanaathanan

An investigation of the tourist industry in erstwhile war-torn regions on the north and east of Sri Lanka reveals the contours of postwar neoliberalism and its continued exacerbation of ethno-nationalism and conflict through the collaboration of a corporate-state-military nexus. This presentation will read the industry’s images, texts, and built environments against the grain to unearth the dispossession it creates but wants to ignore. In the second part of the presentation, Rajasingham will explore the work of Jaffna-based Tamil artist Thamotharampillai Shanaathanan’s work, especially the collection, The Incomplete Thombu (2011), as counterpoints to the industry’s commodification of nature and people for profit. 

For information please contact Marc Albert 315-443-9248.

Sponsored by the South Asia Center at the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs