Nepal: Development and Social Change

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This program is titled Nepal: Social Entrepreneurship in the Himalayas for the fall 2010 semester.

Witness the challenges facing Nepal as it works to balance tradition and progress and negotiate economic, political, and social change during a very dynamic period in its history.

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Renowned for its scenery, from the peaks of the Himalayas to the remnants of tropical jungles in the tarai, Nepal is a land of complex ethnic, cultural, and political diversity. Once thought of as a mythical Shangri-La, Nepal has experienced, and struggled with, the effects wrought by development interventions and continued political change.

At the national level, Nepal has been shaped by transnational forces, connections to the global community, and its own internal divisions, but continues to try and shape its own national identity and political structure.

At the rural level, many Nepalese communities—shaped by their physical environments, pressured by scarce resources, and somewhat left on the periphery of development—have found innovative solutions that have helped them move forward in a challenging environment.

Today, international development, internal political conflict, an emerging civil society, and the global market are all working to redefine Nepal in the twenty-first century.

Based in the Kathmandu Valley, the program examines topics ranging from preservation of UNESCO World Heritage Sites to tourist impact on local culture and national parks. Students also take field excursions to the tarai, the Indian hills station of Darjeeling, and a village in the Himalayas. Students live with host families in Kathmandu for six weeks and typically a rural hometay family for a shorter period.

Lecturers are drawn from institutions such as:

• Tribhuvan University
• Fulbright Commission in Kathmandu
• Ashoka

In the Words of an Alum

"SIT Nepal was an experience beyond what I could have ever expected. Everything was as hands on as it could possibly be, complemented by a good dose of real academic theory, case studies, and lecturers by some of the biggest innovators in their field.

The language classes were amazing - the teachers were definitely some of the best in Nepal and were so enthusiastic, innovative, and caring in their teaching methods that learning was both enhanced and class was something I looked forward to every day.

The learning approach and experience from my research on the program helped me shape my Fulbright research, and the field visits and techniques learned on SIT really enhanced my research undertaken on the Fulbright.

The homestay was also incredible. I even returned to stay with them for the first 5 months of my Fulbright research."

-- Tyler McMahon
Spring 2006 student
Fulbright Recipient (2007-2008)
Currently with the World Food Programme Nepal

Salome Vanwoerden, graduate of Rice University and Spring 2009 student on this SIT Study Abroad program, was awarded the Alice Rowan Swanson Fellowship, an annual award that returns SIT Study Abroad alums to their host countries to conduct development projects that benefit human rights.  She will implement a photography and art therapy class for mental health patients at a Kathmandu hospital starting in October. During her Independent Study Project, she taught daily painting workshops for the patients at the same clinic. “Just the act of creating something and getting feedback really helped their self-esteem,” she said. Read more...

Browse this program's Independent Study Projects/Undergraduate Research