In its inception and short history since 1971, Bangladesh has a place where international agencies, governmental organizations, and NGOs have tested and implemented various models of development. Students will hear from development theorists and development practitioners, and will talk with the intended beneficiaries of development programs. Through theoretical inquiry and structured experiential learning, students will be presented with conceptual tools to compare and contrast the local understanding of "development" and social change used by materially poor rural and urban Bangladeshis with the development discourses of experts and the urban elite. The program includes lectures, discussions, and group field study (in tandem with Bangladeshi students) to explore the ideologies, policies, and practices of socioeconomic development in the capital city Dhaka and in rural Bangladesh. Rural areas visited include Comilla and/or Bogra districts. The study of community development in Bangladesh is grounded in a basic introduction to the culture of Bangladesh, including religion, to better understand both aspirations and tensions in the development process.
The course not only introduces students to the challenges faced by local people in urban and rural settings, but also raises critical awareness of the practical challenges of development programs.
Central Questions
- What goals for development does Bangladesh hold for itself?
- What is the role of community in determining the development process?
- How can visiting students make a contribution and what insights can they back home?
Our partner institution Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) is located in the capital city of Dhaka; the program is based there, but students travel to rural villages for field work. While in the villages students stay at dormitories on the campuses of development agencies. A faculty member from the IUB is joined in teaching this course by a U.S. faculty member who travels to Bangladesh with the students.
Logistics
The program fee covers round-trip airfare from Minneapolis to Dhaka, airport transfers, group transportation to field sites, planned group excursions, lodging, all breakfasts, most lunches and dinners, medical insurance and administrative costs. Housing includes a better-quality Dhaka hotel, and a dormitory at the rural development agency's campus.
Lectures and readings are in English, and student colleagues/interpreters translate Bengali in the field. Instruction in basic Bengali phrases is offered on the program.
Good to Know
Development and Community in Bangladesh won the 2006 Andrew Heiskell Award for Innovation in International Education. This prestigious award celebrates HECUA’s experiential and collaborative practices in program development and delivery, as well as how HECUA programs cultivate skills and understanding needed to participate in change across the world and at home.
