Research

Research interests

My research interests are in urban development, relocation and displacement, urban poverty and vulnerable communities, social work with vulnerable groups, social media driven activism and new technologies, crime and deviance, religion and religious transformations. My methodological preference is in qualitative methodologies and community based research. My previous research has included urban ethnography in urban communities and ethnographic work in religious settings.

I supervise third and fourth year undergraduate students interested in these research areas.   

Recent Research Experience 

  • 2018 – 2023 – I am currently working on my PhD project in Social Anthropology based in the Department of Anthropology, School of Global Studies, University of Sussex. My topic “High-Life in a High-Rise: An urban ethnography on home and everyday life in Colombo, Sri Lanka” was based on lived experience from September 2019-January 2021 in a high rise housing complex in Colombo.
  • January 2021-July 2022 – Research Assistant at the Centre for Social Work Innovation and Research, School of Education and Social Work, University of Sussex.
  • February 2022-August 2022- Research Assistant on the “Co-designing Mobility Metrics for/and active ageing captured on a digital platform”, a collaborative project with the University of Sussex, Sheffield Hallam University and with ExtraCare independent living providers, Cush Health Ltd digital developers.

Previous Research Experience (2009-2018)  

  • September 2015-September 2016 – Postgraduate research study on “Impact of development induced displacement on urban communities in Colombo, Sri Lanka.”
  • October 2014-June 2015, MPhil based research study on “Social media youth activism in Sri Lanka”.
  • May 2012 – June 2013, Researcher,  “Enhancing Human Rights Protections in the Context of Law Enforcement and Security”, University of Sydney, University of Colombo and Kathmandu School of Law.
  • April 2011 – May 2011, November 2012, Research Assistant, Citizens Commission for the Expulsion of the Northern Muslims & Law & Society Trust, Law and Society Trust.
  • December 2009 – February 2010, Project Coordinator, Analysis of Media Texts of 2010 Elections, Transparency International.
  • 2009-2010, Research Assistant to Prof. Ramanie Jayathilaka (Department of Sociology, University of Colombo)  on the following projects
  • October 2009-December 2010, Elderly in Sri Lanka, World Bank and University of Colombo.
  • April 2009, Study on Migration.
  • January 2009, Study on Gender in Sri Lanka, Women & Media Collective and SIDA
  • May 2008 – February 2009, Research Assistant to Prof. Jody Miller (Centre for Law and Justice, Rutgers School of Criminal Justice) on the project The Commercial Sex Industry in Sri Lanka.
  • 2008, Research Assistant to Prof. Rohan Bastin (Deakin University, Australia)
  • November 2008, “Religious Intolerance in Sri Lanka”
  • March 2008 –April 2008, Religious and Organizational Structure of Kataragama.