India: Sustainable Development and Social Change

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Examine socioeconomic development trends in northern India in the context of North Indian culture and identity.

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The program focuses on the state of Rajasthan, historically a princely and aristocratic state, and a center of Hindu, Jain, and Muslim traditions. Through thematic coursework, field study, and complementary educational excursions, students consider the diverse factors - internal and global - shaping India's development strategies and patterns and evaluate the sustainability of recent development efforts in North India.

A central focus of the program is on capacity building, resource use, and social and economic change. Topics for inquiry include:

• Economic development theory and India's structural adjustment
• Planning, policy, and government
• Social entrepreneurship and civil society
• Rural enterprise and land reform
• Women's microcredit initiatives
• Environment and sustainable development
• Indian identity, multinationals, and the Indian Diaspora
• Education and public health

Similarly, students can expect to gain a solid grounding in Indian history and culture, examining critical topics such as:

• The Hindu cultural matrix
• Colonialism, the British Raj, and politics after 1947
• The Hindu legacy of the Rajputs
• Politics of 1947 independence
• Caste discrimination and affirmative action
• Women: power, politics, and poverty
• Communalism vis-à-vis shared religious spaces
• Nationalism and plurality
• Globalization as an instrument of social change in contemporary India

The program is based in Rajasthan's capital city of Jaipur, a bustling hub of nongovernmental organizations engaged in development projects, social justice initiatives, and political activism. To acquire diverse perspectives, students engage with a wide array of academic, professional, and community experts. The program includes visits to the headquarters of nongovernmental organizations and prominent academic and research institutes throughout the city and elsewhere in Rajasthan. These include BMVSS Jaipur Foot, Bodh, GVNML (Laporia), Prakratik Society (Ranthambore), and URMUL-Bikaner.

Travel outside the program base is an essential component of the program. Carefully designed educational excursions include visiting historic and cultural sites in North India, such as Lucknow and Varanasi, as well as sites in Rajasthan such as Jodhpur, Diggi, Bikaner, the rural agricultural village of Ooghna, and the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve. Excursions provide distinct and varying contexts in which to evaluate development trends while becoming immersed in North Indian culture. Intensive language study in Hindi and a six-week homestay in Jaipur further facilitate deep cultural immersion and cross-cultural learning.

Browse this program's Independent Study Projects/Undergraduate Research