{"product_id":"abiding-by-sri-lanka-qadri-ismail-9780816642557","title":"Abiding by Sri Lanka: On Peace, Place, and Postcoloniality Volume 16","description":"The lack of peace in Sri Lanka is commonly portrayed as a consequence of a violent, ethnonationalist conflict between the Sinhalese majority and the Tamil minority. Viewed in this light, resolution could be attained through conflict management. But, as Qadri Ismail reveals, this is too simplistic an understanding and cannot produce lasting peace. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eAbiding by Sri Lanka\u003c\/i\u003e examines how the disciplines of anthropology, history, and literature treat the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict. Anthropology, Ismail contends, approaches Sri Lanka as an object from an \"outside\" and western point of view. History, addressing the conflict from the \"inside,\" abides by the place and so promotes change that is nationalist and exclusive. Neither of these fields imagines an inclusive community. Literature, Ismail argues, can. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWith close readings of texts that \"abide\" by Sri Lanka, texts that have a commitment to it, Ismail demonstrates that the problems in Sri Lanka raise fundamental concerns for us all regarding the relationship between democracies and minorities. Recognizing the structural as well as political tendencies of representative democracies to suppress minorities, Ismail rethinks democracy by redefining the concept of the minority perspective, not as a subject-position of numerical insignificance, but as a conceptual space that opens up the possibility for distinction without domination and, ultimately, peace. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eQadri Ismail is associate professor of English at the University of Minnesota. He has also been a journalist in Sri Lanka.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Qadri Ismail\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0816642559\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780816642557\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Minnesota Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 12\/01\/2005\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 300\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.94lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.38h x 5.80w x 0.66d","brand":"Qadri Ismail","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43926483894527,"sku":"9780816642557","price":26.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/products\/img_3a4addf1-22f0-417b-b221-1920f2281fe2.jpg?v=1681083325","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/abiding-by-sri-lanka-qadri-ismail-9780816642557","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}