After six days of touring Delhi, Agra and Jaipurwith their advisors, WGST professors Jennifer Fluri and Faith Beasley, students said they were in awe of the stark cultural differences between India and New Hampshire, Mia Jessup '12 said in an e-mail to The Dartmouth.
"So far, I absolutely love India the sounds, smells, shops, colors and foods," Jessup said.
While traveling around different regions of the country, students also noticed the clear contrast between rich and poor Indians a divide that was evident from the beginning of the trip, according to Aaron Limonthas '12.
"It is truly a country of have' and have nots,'" Limonthas said in an e-mail to The Dartmouth. "But mostly have not. The socioeconomic issues of India are unimaginable."
Hyderabad was chosen as the location for the new program for both intellectual and practical reasons, according to Asian and Middle Eastern Studies professor Douglas Haynes. Hyderabad was considered to be more "liveable" due to its smaller size, and also provides students a unique opportunity to observe both modern and historical Indian culture, he said.
"I think we found Hyderabad particularly interesting because it really reflects a kind of intersection between the cultures of North India and South India," Haynes said. Haynes will direct the program next year.
This new FSP allows students interested in gender studies to explore the topic of transnationalism, which is currently a major area of study in the field, according to Cristen Brooks, the WGST program coordinator.
"Some of the early feminist movements in this country were really very much part of Western culture," Brooks said. "Then the question is, what does feminism look like in a non-Western culture?"
Living in Hyderabad also allows the students to work closely with Anveshi, a research center for women's studies located in the city, according to Brooks.
The India FSP was initially approved in 2007 and scheduled for Winter term 2010, but budget constraints caused the trip to be delayed to this year, according to Brooks. The idea of a trip to India, however, was discussed as early the 1990s, according to Haynes.
The key development that prompted the College to approve the FSP was the collaboration between the WGST and the AMES departments, Haynes said.
"It was very important for this to become a collaborative enterprise between women's and gender studies and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, and I think that may have been one reason why it was very attractive to the College," Haynes said. "It may have been that a kind of single-stranded program wouldn't have worked as well, wouldn't have gotten the support it did."
Professor Haynes said he hopes the FSP will help spur interest in India back at Dartmouth.
"We've wanted to build up our offerings on India, on South Asia, for some time," Haynes said. "It's inevitable that there will be more courses on South Asia as it becomes clear how important South Asia is becoming."
Over the course of the FSP, students will take three academic courses one taught by the Dartmouth faculty director of the trip, and two courses on modern India taught by local faculty, according to the WGST website.
