New York State Independent College Consortium for Study in India
Campus coordinator fall 2010: Professor Padma Kaimal, Department of Art and Art History
Course descriptions | Program structure | Living arrangements | Costs
| Prerequisites | Further information | Helpful links
The New York State Independent College Consortium for Study in India sends a group of about twenty college students to north India every fall semester for a four-month study program. Founded in 1989, the Consortium currently consists of Colgate, Hamilton, Hobart-William Smith, and St. Lawrence Colleges. The rich and rigorous program is designed to introduce students to the cultural and geographical diversity of the region, by giving students an opportunity to live and study in several sites (Mussoorie, Jaipur, Delhi and Varanasi). In 2010 Colgate may send at least four students on the program.
India is one of the world’s most culturally diverse and vibrant democracies, currently on a rapid path of economic growth. A semester studying with the India Consortium offers students an opportunity to study how art, culture, religion, politics and economics are changing and, in some instances, resisting change at an exciting moment in India’s history.
Course descriptions
Students are required to register and complete the four courses offered on the India Consortium and are not permitted to exercise the satisfactory/unsatisfactory grading option.
Grades are assigned by the Faculty Director, who provides them to the home colleges.
Students will receive credit for:
ASIA 121: Hindi Hindi reading, writing, and conversational skills.
ASIA 280: History of India The culture and history of India prior to Independence in 1947. (Taught by the India Consortium faculty director.)
ASIA 282: Contemporary India Society, politics, and economy of contemporary India. (Taught by the India Consortium faculty director.)
ASIA 391: Independent Research Designed in consultation with the Colgate faculty representative for the consortium to take advantage of resources available in India. Culminates in a substantial written paper. The emphasis is on field work, not merely library research. The student does preparatory reading and library research in the spring and summer. In India, the faculty director and Indian scholars provide advice and give feedback at various stages of the project.
Examples of these projects from previous years include: a study of leprosy, guided by a medical expert from the Leprosy Institute; a study on HIV guided by a social worker; a study of changing concepts of masculinity in Indian cinema over the past four decades.
Program structure
The program usually runs from mid-August to mid-December. After an initial week of orientation in Delhi, students spend about five weeks studying Hindi at Landour Language School in the Himalayan “hill station” of Mussoorie and visiting sites such as Yamunotri (the headwaters of the Ganges river) and Hardwar (a pilgrimage destination at the confluence of the Yamuna and Ganges rivers). After another week in Delhi, students spend about eight weeks in Jaipur, Rajasthan in home-stays, usually celebrating the Hindu festival of Diwali during their home-stays. Hindi study continues in Jaipur while students concurrently enroll in two courses led by the faculty director and enriched by field trips and guest lectures: “ASIA 280: History of India” and “ASIA 282: Contemporary India.” Your readings in these courses come alive through visits to nearby sites such as Ajmer and Pushkar. In Jaipur, students also do significant work on their independent research projects (ASIA 391). Next, the group travels to Varanasi (Banaras), where a professor from Benaras Hindu University guides the students through an intense ten- to fourteen-day immersion in the life of one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities on earth and a revered pilgrimage site for Hindus. A final week in Delhi allows time for students to present to their peers the results of the directed field research they conducted throughout the program.
Language study
The host institution in Mussoorie is the Landour Language School. Established in 1870, and located in Mussoorie, a cool hill station a roughly six hour journey from New Delhi, the School deserves its reputation as the premier language training institute in India. Students take five weeks of intensive Hindi language instruction, with four hours of instruction daily, five days a week. In that time, they typically attain a familiarity with the language sufficient to begin applying it in everyday situations. Classes are small (four to seven students) and students meet with a different professor for each of their daily lessons to give them exposure to a wide range of voices and accents. Language study then continues in Jaipur.
Living arrangements
In Mussoorie, Varanasi and New Delhi students stay as a group in comfortable, clean hotels and guest houses. All meals are provided.
In Jaipur, students live in home-stays with local families. Great efforts are taken to match students with families with similar interests. The families are chosen so that they can provide comfortable living conditions for the students, including a separate bedroom and three home-cooked meals a day. Though all families are capable in English, they deal with students in Hindi as much as possible. Students in years past have found that staying with host families is one of the most gratifying parts of the program, and often keep in touch for years after.
Costs
Costs above Colgate’s tuition include room and board, travel to and from India, immunizations, visa fees, and necessary out-of-pocket expenses. On the average students can expect to spend about the same as a semester on campus. The costs are used in calculating the aid packages of students who receive financial aid, provided this is their first study group experience.
Students who are planning extensive personal travel will need to increase their budget accordingly.
Cost estimate for India Study Group
Prerequisites
This program is open to students of all concentrations. However, preference is given to students who will have completed a course with significant South Asia content prior to the end of the spring 2010 semester. Students should have at least a 3.0 GPA to be strong candidates. Candidates for the India Consortium must also possess evidence of maturity, responsibility, cultural sensitivity, and the ability to function as part of a diverse group.
Information session and application deadline
All students interested in applying for the India Consortium should attend the information session, to be held Thursday, November 12 at 4:00 in McGregory 201.
Applications for the Fall 2010 study group are available from Off-Campus Study/International Programs (McGregory 201) and from Padma Kaimal. Completed applications should be submitted to Off-Campus Study (McGregory 201) by November 20. An interview will be required. For more information contact Prof. Kaimal at pkaimal@colgate.edu or 228-7057. Initial orientation will take place for accepted students during the late fall/early spring semesters on each campus, and we will hold a joint weekend orientation in late March or April 2010.
Helpful links