Social Scientists' Association

Jonathan Spencer concludes the Polity Magazine memorial on Gananath Obeyesekere, with a sweep through the 14 preceding pieces, gleaning of a teacher/colleague/friend. In his own appreciation, Spencer writes of Obeyesekere's work as a site of engagement between past and present: whether as collector and of the oral tradition; interpreter of the new and shocking; or moral commentator on contemporary events.

Jonathan Spencer | The Conscience of the Scholar Jonathan Spencer is Emeritus Professor of South Asian Language, Culture and Society at the University of Edinburgh; co-editor (with Harini Amarasuriya, Tobias Kelly, Sidharthan Mounaguru, and Galina Oustinova-Stjepanovic) of The Intimate Life of Dissent: Anthropological Perspectives (2020, London: U...

Gananath Obeyesekere was not only a brilliant academic but also intellectually fearless and honest, writes feminist scholar Selvy Thiruchandran. Though often criticised by Sinhala nationalists for questioning local myths shaped by ethnocentrism and linguistic , such attacks were, as a Tamil proverb suggests, like barking at the moon. Personal glimpses ranging from fireworks at an ICES seminar in Colombo, to sharing kool and payasam on Dharmaraja Hill in .

Gananath Obeyesekere was not only a brilliant academic but also intellectually fearless and honest, writes feminist scholar Selvy Thiruchandran. Though often criticised by Sinhala nationalists for questioning local myths shaped by ethnocentrism and linguistic , such attacks were, as a Tamil proverb suggests, like barking at the moon. Personal glimpses ranging from fireworks at an ICES seminar in Colombo, to sharing kool and payasam on Dharmaraja Hill in .

https://polity.lk/laughter-debate-and-dissent-personal-glimpses-of-gananath-obeyesekere-selvy-thiruchandran/