Cultural Memory and War Trauma in Sri Lankan Diasporic Writing (and Film)

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This project will explore the legacy and representation of cultural memory and trauma after the Sri Lankan civil war (1983-2009) in the Sri Lankan diasporic writings of Shobasakthi, Niromi De Soyza, Michael Ondaatje, Shyam Selvadurai; the films of Shobasakthi; and Frances Harrison's book 'Still Counting the Dead' and documentary 'Sri Lanka's Unfinished War'. How do literature and films represent political trauma, cultural dislocation and memory? This analysis of Sri Lankan diaspora writing and films will provide insight in comprehending Sri Lankan politics and the trauma it has left in the collective unconscious of Sri Lankan migrants. It will analyse the narratological manifestations of traumatic cultural memory and the processes of identity formation. Intermedial analysis (a differentiated approach to film and literature) will redefine the ways and possibilities of producing cultural memory and identity. The research will compare the artists' individual cultural memories, and will investigate the extent to which these artists create a collective cultural memory as an inevitable identity for the Sri Lankan diaspora. In its focus on regional authors and Tamil testimonial narratives of survivors, this project works to correct the existing Eurocentric approach to trauma studies, and works towards fulfilling the field's promise of a truly cross-cultural, non-western analysis.