The Third International Conference on the Humanities and the Social Sciences (ICHSS) 2017 at the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, is centred on the theme “Knowledge, Diversity and Harmony”. Knowledge is not innocent facts and explanations of the world around us. Knowledge has both intentionally and unintentionally created most of the problems, which then are expected to be resolved by knowledge itself. The social objective of the theme demands that knowledge accepts and appreciates diversity and leads the world towards harmony. The intellectual objective of the theme demands that the diverse knowledge streams work in harmony for the betterment of the larger society. The theme is global, but it has special relevance to contemporary Sri Lanka.

The ICHSS 2017 welcomes all of you and requests you to actively take part in the conference by sharing your research work with a wider audience, which include academic staff and post-graduate students, professionals and policy makers covering a vast range of knowledge from a multitude of intellectual fields.

Over the years the ICHSS has attracted scholars from all the universities and research institutions in Sri Lanka and also from a number of universities from SAARC region and also from the rest of the world. The ICHSS 2017 is expected to attract the largest number of local and international scholars on social sciences and humanities to a single location for the first time in the intellectual history of Sri Lanka.

We invite you to come and share this unique experience with us.