MPhil in Development Practice School of Development Studies and School of Human Studies Sector 9, Dwarka, New Delhi 110077. Lothian Road, Kashmere Gate, Delhi 110006, INDIA. Telefax: +91-011-25074057 Website: www.aud.ac.in Preamble of Development practice 'Development' as concept has multiple connotations and the complexity of its many contours and trajectories have become an area of intense contestation in the social sciences and in what has now come to be known as the 'developmental sector'. Further, the idea and practice of development in India has been largely constructed in terms of the discourses of European modernity. Needless to say, the practice of development has failed to address the lived experiences and the livelihoods-health- education-governance issues of a large segment of the Indian rural poor since independence. This does not mean that developmental initiatives of the Sate and the non-State sector has not made any change in the lives of the rural poor; but such changes, fostered in by primarily mainstream notions of development, have not been sustained, deep-rooted and participatory, especially when it comes to poverty alleviation, cultural and political empowerment, and self-determination. The 'rural', even if in transition, continue to be seen as ‘backward’ and 'under-developed'. The MPhil in Development Practice through (a) an examination of (i) the unexamined 'underdevelopment of the rural' and the (ii) equally unexamined 'royal road to Development', and (b) the setting up of a long-term and intimate relationship with the rural through a ten-month immersion-based-learning in rural contexts wishes to give birth to a Development Sector Professional who would have the capacity to initiate transformative social action in rural India. The MPhil programme co-hosted by an University and by a reputed development sector agent, PRADAN is an attempt to introduce each year into the development sector a cohort of 25 developmental professionals imbued with alternative visions of development and innovative grassroots level action plans borne out of (i) a critical engagement with theories of development, (ii) rural immersion, (iii) practice-based learning, (iv) self- reflection and (v) engaged scholarship. Building on PRADAN’s existing work in the rural this programme, housed in an University, is thus an attempt to offer to the country at large a cohort of professionals who do not just 'study' the rural but bring change to the rural and become themselves harbingers of social transformation. Sector 9, Dwarka, New Delhi 110077. Lothian Road, Kashmere Gate, Delhi 110006, INDIA. Telefax: +91-011-25074057 Website: www.aud.ac.in MPhil Programme in Development Practice The School of Development Studies (SDS) and the School of Human Studies (SHS) at Ambedkar University, Delhi (AUD) in collaboration with PRADAN, offer an MPhil in Development Practice. The programme being among the first of its kinds, running into its second academic session, the idea driving this MPhil is that a new set of professionals, trained in rural development/ transformational skills are needed to fulfill the bottom-up version of the Indian developmental dream, seeking to link the ‘transformation of self’ to the larger goals of social justice and collective transformation. Hence the present programme is planned to build on PRADAN’s existing work and bring their work to a University (in the form of a programme that gives an MPhil degree in Development Practice), guided by the vision of bridging equality and social justice with excellence. This would also offer to the country at large and to the developmental sector a cohort of trained professionals every year. Duration: 2 years Total Credits: 64 Medium of Instruction: English Nature of Programme: Interdisciplinary (drawing from development studies, human ecology, human studies, cultural studies, gender studies, psychology, sociology, political philosophy, economics, biology, environmental studies, education) Number of Seats: 25 Eligibility: Masters with 55% in the Social Sciences, Humanities and Natural Sciences or professional degrees like law, engineering, agriculture and medicine Sector 9, Dwarka, New Delhi 110077. Lothian Road, Kashmere Gate, Delhi 110006, INDIA. Telefax: +91-011-25074057 Website: www.aud.ac.in The University The Bharat Ratna Dr B.R. Ambedkar University, Delhi or AUD was established by the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi through an Act of Legislature in 2007 and was notified in July 2008. Mandated to focus on research and teaching in the social sciences and humanities and guided by Dr Ambedkar’s vision of bridging equality and social justice with excellence, AUD considers it to be its mission to create sustainable and effective linkages between access to and success in higher education. AUD is committed to creating an institutional culture characterised by humanism, non-hierarchical and collegial functioning, teamwork and nurturance of creativity. To know more about AUD please visit: www.aud.ac.in. The Partner Organisation PRADAN (Professional Assistance for Development Action) is a non-government, non-profit organisation that works with India’s rural poor. Across seven of the poorest states in the country, PRADAN promotes Self-Help Groups; develops locally suitable economic activities; Sector 9, Dwarka, New Delhi 110077. Lothian Road, Kashmere Gate, Delhi 110006, INDIA. Telefax: +91-011-25074057 Website: www.aud.ac.in mobilises finances; and introduces systems to improve livelihoods of the rural poor and sustain their progress. PRADAN was pioneered by a group of young professionals, all of whom were inspired by the conviction that individuals with knowledge resources and empathy for the marginalized must work with communities at the grassroots in order to help them overcome poverty. It currently works with more than 2.5 lakh women in most backward districts of India to help them lead a life of dignity. To know more about PRADAN please visit: www.pradan.net The MPhil Programme Development Practice is being financially supported by Sir Dorabji Tata Trust. (www.dorabjitatatrust.org) and the Rohini Ghadiok Foundation (http://rohinighadiokfoundation.org/). Rationale and Objectives Going by present trends, by 2030, at least 60 per cent of the population in India is likely to live in rural settings (UN, 2007). However, currently, there is little societal focus on the issues faced by rural people; rural areas continue to be seen as both transient and ‘backward’. After 60 years of independence, there remains a huge deficit in the availability of quality human resources to work in the villages, along with communities. In order to transform such mainstream perspectives, there is an Sector 9, Dwarka, New Delhi 110077. Lothian Road, Kashmere Gate, Delhi 110006, INDIA. Telefax: +91-011-25074057 Website: www.aud.ac.in immense need to institutionalize, legitimize, and bring rigour to the field of rural development practice, research and policy. This requires a new thinking about development (beyond mere critique), that is grounded in everyday rural realities of poverty, lack of basic services and inability to influence larger societal processes and that builds on local traditions of sharing and collectivity. PRADAN, the Ambedkar University, Delhi partner in this MPhil programme, has been engaged in giving shape to this for over the past 30 years. The proposed programme thus has two broad goals: i. (a) to institutionalize in a University setting the professionalizing of rural development practice (where developmental practice is seen as a socially meaningful and legitimate arena of work) (b) to de-institutionalize the existing imagination of the University (which is largely academic, urban and elite) through its partnership with a grassroots level developmental sector agent of change (here PRADAN) and take it to the rural sector, make its University-level work relevant to the needs of the rural poor and ii. to build ‘capacities’ in terms of developing and increasing the pool of quality human resource in the developmental sector This would involve an understanding of development paradigms over time, alongside building a perspective on the normative themes of social justice, transformation and change. Sector 9, Dwarka, New Delhi 110077. Lothian Road, Kashmere Gate, Delhi 110006, INDIA. Telefax: +91-011-25074057 Website: www.aud.ac.in A practitioner working in rural settings with poor men and women faces continuous challenges and dilemmas in relation to his/her own role and positionality vis-à-vis the community. It is not easy to work long-term in rural areas; given the primarily urban or semi-urban upbringing of most university students, it would require a somewhat higher level of psychic resilience. The programme would therefore address important personal conflicts and self-doubts that may arise out of one’s rural location by enabling the learner to be self-reflexive and in touch with their own emotions, which in turn could enable him/her to be sensitive to and be in tune with the needs and feelings of ‘rural others’. Interactions based on principles of mutual respect, willingness to listen and to learn, can potentially transform the lives of both the practitioner and the communities with whom he/she is working. Such understanding can contribute to a process of collective solidarity and action whereby demands for change are pursued in relation to larger goals and structures. There is no such programme that builds on these premises of reflective practice, of change in self, as key to the processes of education that focuses on changing society. This would perhaps be the first programme of its kind, based on these premises, and would help to evolve a professional identity for the development professional and a model for the country and development sector to spawn such a cadre to meet the growing needs. Sector 9, Dwarka, New Delhi 110077. Lothian Road, Kashmere Gate, Delhi 110006, INDIA. Telefax: +91-011-25074057 Website: www.aud.ac.in Overview of MPhil Programme Facilitating rural transformation requires intellectual resources alongside personal maturity. The programme envisages coalescing theory, research and practice, self- reflection and community engagement as well as epistemological openness to different knowledge systems/streams. The programme is fundamentally interdisciplinary in its approach, combining a mix of methods for transacting the curriculum, and strengthening the balance between knowledge (theoretical and practical field-based), conceptual clarity and reflection. The programme, in addition to philosophies and histories of development, shall also be informed by the long history of work in ‘depth psychology’, so as to attend to the psychic processes of students and the rural community. This will help students cope with the stress and the hope/despair dyad of transformative work in the rural. The programme is based on a learner-centred and immersion-based pedagogy. The structure of the field and course work allows for reflection-based learning, so that the learner can draw on real life experiences to understand and engage with key conceptual ideas as well as develop grounded theory. The immersion component has Sector 9, Dwarka, New Delhi 110077. Lothian Road, Kashmere Gate, Delhi 110006, INDIA. Telefax: +91-011-25074057 Website: www.aud.ac.in multiple benefits: it can help make an informed decision about career choice, provide hands-on learning through exposure to the field under the supervision and with the support of mentors and guides, help concretise the theoretical learning of the classroom, and finally enable safe experimentation in the field under supervision. The programme will also strengthen research skills, particularly in relation to developing appropriate methodologies, both participatory and action-oriented, for answering critical questions arising from the field. It is envisaged that dissertations would involve reflective exercises applying analytical tools to understand the implications of specific development interventions in which the learner may have been involved themselves. The programme provides the conceptual, methodological and emotional skills for a unique progression from understanding the rural context and problematising the developmental issues therein to engaging with processes of change and transformation. The focus on discovery and open-mindedness is coupled with intellectual rigour and the development of professional skills. Pedagogy The pedagogy of the programme comprises of two integral aspects – experiential learning and learner support and reinforcement systems. Experiential learning premises itself on the immersion of the learner in actual life experience and engaging with the milieu of practice; the opportunity to reflect by herself/ himself as well as receive observations and feedback from peers, mentors, supervisors and members of the milieu itself. Building a cognitive map supported by existing or evolving theory ties the experience of the learner in an attempt to help her/him make meaning of her/his experience. Drawing up fresh hypothesis, evolving new ones to experiment with and learn from, becomes the next step. Learner support groups and reinforcement systems are meant to create a learning community. To build consonance between experience ‘out-there’ and experience and learning ‘in-here’ in the classroom, group-centred pedagogy will focus on the learners’ sharing, critiquing and helping each other examine stances, approaches and methods that they have used in practice. Over a period of time it is envisaged that a vibrant learning community will emerge in charge of their own learning and deriving joy through contribution towards each other’s learning and growth. Sector 9, Dwarka, New Delhi 110077. Lothian Road, Kashmere Gate, Delhi 110006, INDIA. Telefax: +91-011-25074057 Website: www.aud.ac.in Field Immersion The programme involves a field ‘immersion’ of 8 months; where the students shall be expected to stay 1 month ‘in’ the village and 7 months at the village district. MPhil Dissertation The MPhil Dissertation will entail doing an Action Research Project, collaborating the field immersion experience of the students with the theoretical understanding of the developmental context, in the University. Attendance The minimum attendance required for the programme in the University for classroom teaching is expected to be 65%. The field immersion shall be treated as a Practicum with maximum attendance requirements, with only 5 day leave permissible. Students will be expected to fulfill these attendance requirements unless there are unavoidable circumstances. Sector 9, Dwarka, New Delhi 110077. Lothian Road, Kashmere Gate, Delhi 110006, INDIA. Telefax: +91-011-25074057 Website: www.aud.ac.in