Abstract
Higher education campuses in post-conflict Sri Lanka serve as micro-societies where diverse ethnic communities, primarily Sinhala, Sri Lankan Tamil, and Sri Lankan Muslim, interact within shared academic spaces. While university settings present potential opportunities for cross-cultural cohesion, students enter higher education carrying inherited ethnic stereotypes, historicized anxieties, and institutionalized language barriers. This qualitative study investigates how university undergraduates perceive and navigate ethnic stereotypes, how intergroup contact influences cross-ethnic relations, and how students develop intergroup resilience conceptualized here as the relational capacity to negotiate, endure, and resolve interethnic tension, micro-aggressions, and historical prejudice. Guided by an interpretivist paradigm combining Social Identity Theory and the Intergroup Contact Hypothesis, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 undergraduate students from four strategically selected Sri Lankan state universities (Kelaniya, Peradeniya, South Eastern, and Jaffna). Thematic analysis revealed four overarching dynamics: (1) socialization pathways and specific content of inherited ethnic stereotypes; (2) structural, linguistic, and historical drivers of intergroup anxiety; (3) non-linear contact dynamics encompassing both transformative encounters and superficial/negative interactions; and (4) the operational mechanisms of intergroup resilience during active campus tensions. The study demonstrates that intergroup resilience is distinct from passive peaceful coexistence or mere stereotype reduction; it represents an active relational process dependent on linguistic negotiation and collaborative coping. Institutional recommendations for structured intergroup engagement in Sri Lankan higher education are discussed. The findings also highlight demographic majority and minority shifts across institutional settings and the role of shared residential spaces in sustaining cross-ethnic trust. Recommendations include language-bridging modules, multi-ethnic hostel allocations, student-led mediation committees, and cooperative academic projects.
Keywords
- Ethnic Stereotypes
- Intergroup Contact
- Intergroup Resilience
- Social Identity Theory
- Ethno Religious Relations
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