Program
Program
Curriculum, Credit and Cost
ISLE is formally affiliated with the University of Peradeniya (see University photos), one of the leading institutions of higher learning in South Asia. Peradeniya faculty offer a range of required and elective courses tailored to the needs of ISLE students. Extracurricular instruction in music, dance, and other art forms, as well as meditation is also available for interested students.
Classroom study is supplemented by archaeological and field trips on the island. The archaeological tour surveys Sri Lanka’s historical civilizations, with field study of archaeological and religious sites at the ancient capitals of Anuradhapura, Sigiriya, and Polonnaruva. The field tours are part of the course field trips, customized by students in consultation with the director, the ISLE staff, and faculty, to visit various places of personal as well as academic interest.
On site lecture at the ruins of ancient capital city (A. D. 993-1293), Polonnaruwa
Credits
ISLE members schools grant academic credit for satisfactory completion of program coursework. Each school individually determines the total number of credits to be awarded, and the manner in which credits and grades are recorded on student transcripts. Allocation of credits to departments, or to major/minor requirements, must be negotiated by the student with the home college. The full load consists of all required courses and two elective courses. In each of the fall and spring semesters lasting 15 weeks, ISLE provides introductory orientation and concluding independent study sections, and a session of optional courses.
Independent Study presentations
During the last three to four weeks of the program, students work for their independent study projects in consultation with their faculty director. The topics for these studies are chosen by the students themselves. In the past students have worked on projects focused on agricultural development programs, the gem trade, archeological excavations, Kandyan dance, orphanages, fishing camps, and public health issues, etc.
Standing Buddha - Polonnaruwa
Required Common Courses
Required courses to be offered in the Fall of 2008 and Spring of 2009 include:
Conversational Sinhala. 85-90 hours of intensive language instruction in colloquial Sinhala, emphasizing functional use of the language in contexts that students can be expected to encounter in daily life. Classes are held at the ISLE Study Center.
Class format consists of classroom instruction, language tasks to be performed at host family homes and other sites, one-on-one sessions with instructors, and sessions on topics such as communication and language learning strategies, and cross cultural topics involving language and etiquette. Quizzes, review and feedback sessions round out the format of this class.
ASSESSMENT: Factors of assessment criteria to be scored are Comprehension, Accent, Grammar, Vocabulary, Discourse, Fluency, and Paralinguistic Features.
ISLE Classroom (staff in the foreground), Isle Program Study Center
Material Culture. Study of ancient history and archaeological sites in the northern parts of Sri Lanka.
This course is concerned with a range of topics related to the geographical, institutional, industrial and artistic history of Sri Lanka. The extensive Northern Tour takes students to a number of prestigious historical sites, possessing some of the best representations of classical Sri Lankan art and architecture. The reading materials and lectures give context and texture to the students' field trip experience.
Independent Study. In-depth field study project, or service-learning academic study, in a context chosen by the student in consultation with the faculty director, culminating in a written report and oral seminar presentation.
Electives:
Elective courses change from year to year. All courses are comprised of 20 hours of instruction.
FALL 2008 ELECTIVES (select two):
Art, Drama, and Poetry. A survey study of social, cultural, political, and religious themes in 20th century Sri Lankan novels, fine arts, and drama. Themes of focus include the Sir Lankan experience as cultural mosaic; modernity in Sri Lanka; memory and nation; tradition, modernity and iconoclasm in literature; drama and culture; conflict and terror; alternative histories; colonial change and trauma.
The course is comprised of lectures, a number of field trips to museums and theaters, and a wide range of reading materials. Students are encouraged to investigate the music, poetry and art of Sri Lanka prior to the beginning of the course.
Theravada Buddhist Thought. Theravada Buddhism represents one of the most ancient interpretations of the teachings of the Buddha. The importance of the Theravada teachings as a philosophy of life, a psychology, an ethical system, a social, political and economic philosophy will be discussed, as will implications of the Theravada doctrines on some of the current social problems in Sri Lanka. (Recommended for interested students without prior background in the study of Buddhism.)
In addition to the theoretical understanding of Buddhist meditation that will be provided, students will be introduced to the practical aspect of Buddhist meditation by taking them for a day's retreat to the lay meditation center in Nilambe.
ISLE Sri Lanka Faculty Seminar 2007. (Administrator Sree Padma
left her seat to tend to photographer duties.)
Colonial and Modern History of Sri Lanka. Discussion of the political, social, and economic impacts of Portuguese, Dutch, and British hegemony from the 16th century through 1948 and beyond.
The course is comprised of lectures and seminars covering a variety of themes designed to assist students in understanding today's Sri Lanka as a result of five centuries of change. Topics include the beginning of colonial rule, the establishment of British rule, the rise of nationalism, and political change in the early 20th century and the passage to independence.
Images of the Feminine and the Social Experiences of Women. Conceptions of what it means to be a female in Sri Lankan society as understood in Buddhist, Hindu, and Muslim sociocultural contexts, and processes through which women are seeking to enhance the status of themselves and their families.
SPRING 2009 ELECTIVES (select two):
Ritual and Folk Culture A general introduction to the cultural history of Sri Lanka with special attention to myth and ritual. The course is designed to give a coherent overview of folk religion, rituals, and folk literature in a historical context. Lecture topics include beginnings of Sinhala culture, sources of myth and ritual, the cults of local gods and goddesses, Sinhala folk literature and folk drama, and rituals of Buddhist monks and laity.
Ethnicity and Social Identity. This course provides an introduction to Sri Lankan society through exploration of three primary bases of social/collective identity, namely caste, social class and ethnicity. One of the key sociological issues to be explored in this course is why ethnicity has become far more important than either caste or social class in shaping group processes and social conflict in contemporary Sri Lankan society. In particular, the course is concerned with how collective identities influence and are, in turn, influenced by violent conflicts.
Modern Sri Lankan Politics. Critical review of the political dynamics from 1948 to the present, giving particular attention to the application of ethnicity-based arguments to "legitimize" political activities during volatile periods of ethnic conflict and present strategies for resolving the conflict.
Buddhist Ethics. Study of fundamental Buddhist theories of action as articulated in canonical texts, and their applicability in the context of moral and psychological dilemmas in contemporary life. Recommended for advanced students and those who have completed Theravada Buddhist doctrine.
Environmental Studies. The main objective of this course is to introduce the student to the state of the environment of Sri Lanka. In order to achieve this, the course covers the salient features of the environment of Sri Lanka, some of its major problems, and the measures that have been introduced to tackle these problems.
Lectures include such topics as agriculture and sustainable development, biodiversity and land degradation, and there are two field trips.
Eligibility and Costs
Any student in good standing at an ISLE member school is eligible to apply for the program. Applicants from non-member schools will be considered on a space-available basis. Preference is given to students who can adjust to, empathize with, and reap academic benefits from intensive exposure to a significantly different social, cultural, and material environment.
The comprehensive fee for the ISLE Program is one half of the annual cost of tuition, room, and board at the student's home institution. This fee covers tuition, room, and board for 15 weeks in Sri Lanka, airfare from the US to Sri Lanka, program travel in Sri Lanka, textbooks, and most reading materials. Students who receive financial aid in the US can apply this aid to study on ISLE.
Following the conclusion of the program those students who decide to travel to other parts of South or Southeast Asia can make their own arrangements through travel agencies in Kandy.