Initiated in 2012 by Prof. P. Athukorala, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences from 2007 to 2013, the International Research Conference in Humanities and Social Sciences (IRCHSS) was established with the aim of promoting research and scholarship within the Faculty. Since its inception, IRCHSS has become a regular and significant event in the Faculty’s academic calendar.
The conference has attracted scholars from Sri Lanka and abroad, providing a dynamic forum for engaging with current trends, emerging perspectives, and contemporary issues in the fields of Humanities and Social Sciences. It has also served as an important platform for the dissemination and exchange of knowledge, fostering academic dialogue and collaboration among researchers.
Over the years, IRCHSS has featured numerous eminent scholars from different parts of the world as keynote and plenary speakers, further enhancing the academic significance and international reach of the conference.
Initially organized as an annual event, IRCHSS was subsequently transformed into a biennial conference in 2018, in response to the growing volume of research activities within the Faculty.
Previous Conferences
9th IRCHSS 2025
Advancing Sustainable Development Research in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Conference Chair: Prof. Asha Fernando
Conference Secretary: Dr. Kaushalya Hewawasam
Keynote Address: Advancing Sustainable Development Research in the Age of Artificial
Intelligence
Prof. Walter Leal, Professor of Environment and Technology
University of Hamburg, Germany, and Manchester Metropolitan University (UK)
Plenary: Exploring The Intersection of Music & Technology
Dr. K. Sashikumar, Former Dean of Faculty of Performing Arts, Department of Vocal Music
Faculty of Performing Arts, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India
8th IRCHSS 2023
Seeing through Testing Times and the Future
Conference Chair: Dr. Tharanga Weerasooriya
Conference Secretary: Dr. Tharaka Ananda
Keynote Address: The Box of Delights
Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha, Professor (Emeritus), Sabaragamuwa University
Plenary: Seeing Through Testing Times and Future: An Anthropological Perspective
Prof. Charmalie Nahallage, Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Sri Jayewardenepura
Plenary: Honor and Plurality in Hindi-Urdu
Prof. Rajesh Bhatt, Professor, Department of Linguistics, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, USA
Plenary: Reimagining the English Language Learning Landscape in 21st Century Asia: An Intellectual and Technological Adventure
Prof. Andrew Lian, Professor (Emeritus), University of Canberra, Australia
7th IRCHSS 2021
Collaborate and Discover: Break the Barriers
Conference Chair: Dr. Sujeewa Hettiarachchi
Conference Secretary: Mr. Ajantha Kalyanaratne
Keynote Address: Anthropomorphism and Zoomorphism: Resolving the Praxis
Praneeth Abhayasundere, Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Sri Jayewardenepura
Plenary: Fruits Of the Forest: Sri Lanka and Its Global Prehistory
Oshan Wedgeᵃ, Siran Deraniyagalaᵇ, Michael Petragliaᶜ, Noel Amanodᵈ, Michelle C. Langleyᵉ, Patrick Robertᶠ, M.M. Pathmalalᵍ
Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Germanyᵃ,ᶜ,ᵈ,ᶠ, Department of Archaeology, Sri Lankaᵇ, University of Queensland, Queensland, Australiaᵉ,ᶠ, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, USAᶜ, Griffith University, Queensland, Australiaᶠ, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lankaᵃ⁻ᵍ
Plenary: Toward Explaining Language: the Minimalist Perspective
T. Daniel Seely, Eastern Michigan University, USA
6th IRCHSS 2018
Crossroads: Where Humanities Meet Social Sciences
Conference Chair: Dr. Damayanthi Bamunusinghe
Conference Secretary: Dr. Nelum Kanthilatha
Keynote Address: Narrative as a Research Methodology in the Arts and Humanities
Prof. Mike Baynham, Professor of TESOL, University of Leeds, UK
Plenary: Integration of ASEAN Banking Sector Stocks
Dr. Jones Odei Mensah, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
Plenary: Why Depend on Others? Why Not Thinking of Ours? A Methodological Approach to Conceptualization in Social Science Research
Dr. M. A. Shantha Wijesinghe, Department of Geography, University of Sri Jayewardenepura
5th IRCHSS 2016
Transformation For Empowerment : Moving Beyond Buzzwords
Conference Chair: Dr. Chitra Jayathilake
Conference Secretary: Mr. Senani Harishchandra
Keynote Address: Urban Transformation and Universities for Regional and Emotional Empowerment: Patrick Geddes as a Global Victorian
Prof. David Amigoni, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Research and Enterprise, Keele University, UK
Plenary: Transformation for Disempowerment? Culture and Small Nations in the Age of Globalization Prof. Scott McCracken, Professor of Twentieth-Century Literature Department of English, Queen Mary, University of London, UK
4th IRCHSS 2015
Today’s Vision Tomorrow’s Reality: Success Through Synergy
Conference Chair: Prof. Charmalie Nahallage
Conference Secretary: Ven. Dr. Madagampitiye Wijithadhamma Thero
Keynote Address: Compuphilia: Educational Reflections on Anthropomorphising our Computers, While Dehumanising Ourselves
Prof. Ronald S. Laura, Professor in Education, The University of Newcastle, Australia
Satellite Symposium on Reconciliation and Intellectual Spectrum
Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha, Professor (Emeritus), Sabaragamuwa University
Prof. S. M. M. Ismail
Former Vice Chancellor, South Eastern University, Sri Lanka.
Prof. T. Thanaraj
Dean, Faculty of Education, Horizon Campus, Sri Lanka
3rd IRCHSS 2014
Innovate, Integrate, and Impart: Development Without Borders
Conference Chair: Prof. Shirantha Heenkenda
Conference Secretary: Dr. Lalith Ananda
Keynote Address: Innovation on the Tracks of Heritage and Environment in Sri Lanka
Dr. Siran Upendra Deraniyagala, Former Director General of Archaeology, Sri Lanka
2nd IRCHSS 2013
Conference Chair: Dr. Shantha Wijesinghe
Conference Secretary: Ms. Vishaka Suriyabandara
Keynote Address: Reshaping Development and Meeting Human Needs: Beyond the Millennium Development Goals
Prof. J. A. Binns, Department of Geography, University of Otago, New Zealand
1st IRCHSS 2012
Honouring the Past, Treasuring the Present, Navigating the Future: Making Knowledge to Deliver
Conference Chair: Prof. Sunethra Tennakoon
Conference Secretary: Prof. Charmalie Nahallage
Keynote Address: The Magic Art of Human Action
Professor (Emeritus) Gunnar Olsson, Department of Human Geography, Uppsala University, Sweden