Dr Sarah Nelum Rajika Wijesinghe

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Dr Sarah Nelum Rajika Wijesinghe

Dr Sarah Nelum Rajika Wijesinghe

SDGs Focus
Gender Equality
Decent Work and Economic Growth
Reduced Inequalities
Responsible Consumption and Production

Biography

Dr Sarah N.R. Wijesinghe is a senior lecturer at the Jeffrey Sachs Centre on Sustainable Development, Sunway University, Malaysia. Before joining JSC, she served as a lecturer at University of Lincoln, UK and Taylor’s University, Malaysia. She earned her degrees in the UK and Malaysia, including a Ph.D. in the field of politics of tourism. Her work as an interdisciplinary critical researcher explores the intersections of gender, tourism, critical sustainability, education, colonialism, and decolonisation. A leading scholar in the tourism community, Sarah has been the recipient of several awards including best paper awards for her work in tourism and pro-environmental behaviour and decolonising the tourism academia. She is the author of 20+ academic publications, including a non-fiction memoir, titled ‘The Illusions of Freedom’, that sheds light into the fallacies of neoliberal academia, and how it shapes academic practices in Asia. In her time as an academic, she has delivered a series of talks, trainings and presentations across Asia & Europe, and led a ‘decolonising the curriculum’ initiative at the University of Lincoln.

Academic & Professional Qualifications

  • PhD, Taylor’s University, Malaysia
  • MSc, University of Surrey, United Kingdom
  • BSc (Hons), Taylor’s University, Malaysia

Research Interests

  • Gender Studies
  • Tourism
  • Coloniality
  • Critical Sustainability
  • Sustainable Tourism
  • Tourism & Culture
  • Sustainable Behaviour & Marketing
  • Education for Sustainable Development
  • Politics of Tourism

Notable Publications

Books

  1. Wijesinghe, S. (2023). The Illusions of Freedom. Kuala Lumpur: Gerakbudaya.

Book Chapters

  1. Wijesinghe, SNR. & Higgins-Desbiolles, F., (2024). A Critical Analysis of The UN SDGs. In K. Boluk, F., Higgins-Desbiolles., & M. Akhoundoghli (Ed). The Elgar Companion to Tourism and the Sustainable Development Goals. Edward Elgar Publishing.
  2. Mura, P., & Wijesinghe, S.N.R., (2024). Critical tourism geographies scholarship and sustainability. In D. Müller & J. Wilson (Ed). Routledge Handbook of Tourism Geographies (2nd Edition). London: Routledge.
  3. Wijesinghe, S.N.R.* & Mura, P. (2018). Situating Asian Tourism Ontologies, Epistemologies and Methodologies: From Colonialism to Neo-Colonialism. In P. Mura & C. Khoo-Lattimore (Ed). Asian Qualitative Research in Tourism: Ontologies, Epistemologies, Methodologies, and Methods (pp. 97-115). Singapore: Springer. Doi: 10.1007/978-981-10-7491-2

Articles in Academic Indexed Journals

  1. Wijesinghe, S.N.R. (2023). The Modelling of Captive Minds in Asian Tourism Studies. Special Issue in Philippines Sociological Review titled ‘On the thought of Syed Hussein Alatas’, 70, 33-52.
  2. Mura, P., & Wijesinghe, S.N.R., (2022). Ph.D. Students’ Experiences and Emotions in Neoliberal Tourism Academia. Tourism Management Perspectives. 44.
  3. Wijesinghe, S.N.R. (2021). Neoliberalism, Covid-19, and Hope for Transformation in Tourism. Current Issues in Tourism, Doi: 10.1080/13683500.2021.2012431
  4. Wijesinghe, S.N.R. (2020). Researching coloniality: A reflection on identity. Annals of Tourism Research. 82, 1-16.
  5. Wijesinghe, S.N.R., Mura, P., & Tavakoli, R. (2020). A postcolonial feminist analysis of official tourism representations of Sri Lanka on Instagram. Tourism Management Perspectives, 36, 100756.
  6. Mura, P. & Wijesinghe, S.N.R. (2019). Behind the Research Beliefs and Practices of Asian Tourism Scholars in Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand. Special Issue in Tourism Management Perspectives, 31, 1-13.
  7. Wijesinghe, S.N.R., Mura, P. & Bouchon, F., (2019). Tourism knowledge and neocolonialism – a systematic critical review of the literature. Current Issues in Tourism, 22(11), 1263-1279.
  8. Wijesinghe, S.N.R, Mura, P. & Culala, H.J., (2019). Eurocentrism, Capitalism and Tourism Knowledge. Tourism Management, 70, 178-187.
  9. Hanna, P., Wijesinghe, S., Pali, I., Walker, C., Adams, M., & Kimbu, A. (2019). Active engagement with nature: outdoor adventure tourism, sustainability and wellbeing. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Doi: 10.1080/09669582.2019.1621883.

Conference proceedings

  1. Mura, P., & Wijesinghe, S.N.R., (2022). Power in Tourism Academia: An Ethnodrama. Paper presented at the 9th Critical Tourism Studies Conference: With in Dangerous Times, 27th June-1st July, Menorca, Spain.
  2. Wijesinghe, S.N.R., Mura, P. & Bouchon, F. (2018). Towards Decolonization of ASEAN Tourism Studies: A Critical Inquiry of Tourism Knowledge in Malaysia, Thailand & Vietnam. Paper presented at the 7th Asia-Euro Tourism Conference: Nurturing the Future of Tourism, 14-17 November, Manilla, Philippines.
  3. Wijesinghe, S., Mura, P. and Bouchon, F. (2017). ‘Where are we in Tourism Knowledge and Research Today? Colonialism to Neocolonialism’. Paper to be presented at the 15th Asia Pacific CHRIE (APacCHRIE 2017), 31 May-2 June, Bali, Indonesia
  4. Hanna, P., Wijesinghe, S. & Pali, I. (2016). Battling nature to save it: outdoor adventure activities and understandings of sustainability. Paper presented at the South Downs National Research Conference, 6 July, Midhurst, United Kingdom.
  5. Wijesinghe, S.N.R. & Pozgaj, M. (2015). A Critical Analysis on the Implementation, Activeness and Level of Engagement of Destination Marketing Organisations across Social Media Platforms of YouTube & Google. In R. Egger, & C. Maurer. (Eds), ISCONTOUR 2015 -Tourism Research Perspectives: Proceedings of the International Student Conference in Tourism Research (pp. 255-269). Salzburg: Books on Demand.

Achievements & Accolades

Awards

  1. 2018. Best Paper Award received at the 7th Asia Euro Conference, 14-17 Nov. Manila, Philippines for the paper entitled ‘Towards Decolonization of ASEAN Tourism Studies: A Critical Inquiry of Tourism Knowledge in Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam'.
  2. 2016. Best Paper Award received at the South Downs Research Conference, 6 July, Midhurst, United Kingdom for the paper entitled ‘Battling nature to save it: outdoor adventure activities and understandings of sustainability’.
  3. 2016. Taylor’s University World Fellowship Scholarship

Selected Talks and Presentation

  1. September, 2024: “Tourism & Peace”, Forum held by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts & Culture Malaysia, World Tourism Day, 2024. Panellist.
  2. June, 2024: “Defending your research and Responding to Reviewers”, Workshop held by Rajarata University of Sri Lanka. Invited Speaker
  3. January, 2023: “Creating Impact with your Research”, Workshop held by Asia Pacific Centre for Hospitality Research, Sunway University, Malaysia. Invited Speaker
  4. October, 2022. “Reflexivity in Qualitative Research”. Workshop held by Centre for Higher Degree by Research at Taylor’s University, Malaysia. Invited Speaker
  5. November, 2022. Thoughts of Young Minds Keynote speech. 3rd Asian Tourism Research Conference organised by Christ University, India. Keynote Speaker
  6. October, 2020. “On Analysing Hegemony: Education, Knowledge Production, and Curriculum”. Workshop held by Far Eastern University, Philippines. Invited Speaker

Professional Associations

Associate Editor, Annals of Tourism Research