Students will get experience working with local human rights groups
The Centre for International Programs will offer a two-part course that includes a fieldwork component in Dharamsala, India for the Winter 2015 semester. The course will be taught by Dr. Andrea Paras of the Department of Political Science at the University of Guelph.
While the first part of the course is a semester long, the second part is a month-long field-study taught in May.
“The purpose of the field-school is to combine the best aspects of classroom and practical learning,” explained Dr. Paras, who joined the University of Guelph in 2012. “In a sense, the second part of the course will be like a one-month internship.”
Dr. Paras’ course is intended to teach students about the benefits and consequences of international aid and volunteerism while attempting to answer the difficult questions that arise from the presence of global volunteers.
In many developing nations, volunteers and interns from outside the community often do more harm than good. During the reconstruction of Haiti following the 2010 earthquake, for example, citizens received a flood of help from non-profit organizations. However, once volunteers returned to their home nations, some Haitian people were left in a worse-off state.
Students interested in participating in the course will be able to gain practical experience in India while also understanding more about the role of volunteering and external aid in an increasingly connected world.
“The program is open to students in all programs across the university, and is suitable for any student that has an interest in gaining international volunteer experience,” said Dr. Paras. “Since we live in an increasingly interconnected and globalized world, it is important for students in all disciplines to improve their ‘Global Literacy.’”
Dharamsala is a city located in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The Central Tibetan Administration’s headquarters (the Tibetan Government-in-Exile) are located in there.
In addition to learning more about Indian and Tibetan culture, students will be able to visit famous sites like the Taj Mahal in Agra, and the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
Dr. Paras says that students are not required to have any prior international experience, though they are expected to demonstrate a general open-mindedness regarding other cultures.
Dr. Paras has spent significant amount of time in South Asia, with most of her time spent in India and Bangladesh. Before coming to the university in 2012, she spent a year working at the Asian University for Women in Chittagong, Bangladesh.
“With regards to my personal perspective, I was drawn to Tibetan Buddhist culture after spending time in the Nepali and Indian Himalayas,” explained Dr. Paras. “This, along with my long-standing interest in human rights, led me to Dharamsala in July, 2012.”
Tibet was historically an autonomous region, north-east of the Himalayas, whose government was abolished in 1959 by the People’s Republic of China. The subject of Tibetan sovereignty has been a great source of tension between China and the West. The Central Tibet Administration was created by the 14th (and current) Dalai Lama, following his exile.
“I have worked for the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD), which is a Tibetan human rights organization based in Dharamsala,” explained Dr. Paras. “I have also established a partnership with this organization for the purposes of teaching my fourth-year seminar on human rights and ethics.”
Dr. Paras encourages all students interested in gaining international volunteer experience, in addition to those interested in learning more about Indian and Tibetan culture, to enroll in her course.
“I am excited to have the opportunity to introduce Guelph students this fascinating corner of India,” said Dr. Paras. “I equally hope that this experience will benefit local organizations in Dharamsala, as well as enrich student participants personally and intellectually.”