Kirubhalini Giruparajah

Kirubhalini is currently pursuing her MA in History under the supervision of Dr. Ishita Pande. She will be examining how structures of colonial governance, which are constitutive of Sri Lankan parliamentary democracy, fail to provide substantive political emancipation for minorities such as Dalits, Muslims, Veddhas, lower class Sinhalese and Tamils. Her thesis will focus on examining how ethnic communities are legally defined in law and how policies are created to police and govern over ethnic collectivities. She feels that examining the limits of parliamentary government and how it has historically marked and gendered ethnic bodies in Sri Lanka is one way to approach these issues. She hopes to make interventions into Sri Lankan history and the current literature by critically analyzing the political writings of Maoists and Marxists who have written on similar issues. "Some of her other interests include: postcolonialism, critical feminism, subaltern and Dalit studies, Tamil Studies, yoga, meditation, coffee shops, and cupcakes.

Teaching

Teaching Assistant : HIST 283: "The Making of the Third World"

Publications

"Multiculturalism": A (Critical) Tamil Perspective published in Kalam Magazine (2009).