Bangladesh: Sustainable Development in a Muslim Context

Location:
Dhaka, Bangladesh

Sponsor:
Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs

Program:
Field experiences offer an opportunity to see social change in progress. You will witness the moderate practice of Islam and learn about the impact of global development, environmentally and economically. Village studies are conducted in rural communities. Through an interpreter, you will interview rural residents to understand local views of population, gender roles, education, and social issues. Urban experiences include visiting urban settler areas and development agencies in Dhaka. You will analyze development projects designed to help one of the world's poorest countries.

The program will address the following central questions: How can we understand Bangladesh and its people through the lenses of culture (religion, the arts, family, and perspectives of justice? What are the causes and consequences of poverty and inequality in Bangladesh? What do agents of "development" think that they are achieving through their development initiatives? How do the supposed beneficiaries of "development" understand these initiatives and their effects?

Course Offerings:
Through lectures, discussions, and group field study, students in the 4-credit course will explore the policies, practices, and ideologies of socioeconomic development in rural and urban Bangladesh. You will learn about the intentions of development agents and the aspirations of poor Bangladeshis. HECUA students stay in a hotel while in Dhaka and attend seminars at the Independent University of Bangladesh. During two weeks in the Comilla District, you will be housed at a hostel within the Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development.

Contact Information:
Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs
2233 University Ave. W, Suite 210
St. Paul, MN 55114 USA
Phone: 651-646-8832 or 800-544-1089 in the US
E-mail:  info@hecua.org
http://www. hecua.org/programs/bangladesh