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For the first two years, Nepā School will offer a nine-month programme called the Graduate Diploma in Social Sciences, spread over two semesters. Students will be taught a wide range of disciplines, including sociology, anthropology, political science, economics and research methodology, combining lectures and discussions. They will also take classes in academic reading and writing in both semesters.
From the third year onwards, in addition to the graduate diploma programme, Nepā School will offer two-year (four-semester) Master’s programmes in two disciplines (most likely sociology/anthropology and political science) and it will eventually offer MPhil and PhD as well as undergraduate programmes after six or seven years.
The Graduate Diploma in Social Sciences is a nine-month (post-)graduate course that aims to give the students a strong theoretical and analytical foundation for their subsequent enrolment in university-run Master’s programmes in the social sciences or in their professional career. This programme serves as an advanced version of the Immersion Course in Contemporary Social Issues that Nepā School’s parent organisation, Social Science Baha, had run for close to a decade.
Among the wide selection of disciplines that fall under the social sciences, the diploma course currently focuses on sociology, anthropology, political science, and gender studies. Being interdisciplinary in nature, it enables the student to experience the rich intellectual traditions of each of the disciplines through a rigorous immersion into the key philosophical and theoretical ideas, schools and debates. The design of each course explores both its width and depth, giving our graduates a strong academic base from which they may further explore the social sciences in university-run graduate programmes. For those not intending to pursue further studies, the course will provide a stimulating intellectual conclusion to their undergraduate studies through rigorous instructions on the core subjects within the social sciences and training in Academic English.
The faculty employ pedagogical methodologies prevalent in institutions of repute around the world. Students are given reading lists and are required to participate in seminars and make presentations. Daily readings, regular homework and tests are intrinsic to the programme. The academic team works with each student in building necessary academic and analytical skills, and students can seek academic counselling with the tutors and take part in interactions with the faculty and resource persons. The School’s computer lab provides access to major journal databases and publishers. The students can borrow books from the School’s modest library. They are also encouraged to exploit the more extensive resources in the social science reference library housed at the School’s parent organisation, Social Science Baha.
The Graduate Diploma in Social Sciences is currently not formally recognised by any university. But it is expected that this Diploma holder will stand a good chance of being accepted for Master’s degree programmes in reputed Indian universities and, eventually, universities in the West.
Applicants to the programme should be a graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in the first or high second division in any discipline from a recognized university. Applicants should have a reasonably good command of the English language.
Acceptance to the course will be highly selective and only those students deemed capable of handling the rigorous coursework will be admitted. Admission will be on the basis of (academic) merit and a consideration of the applicant’s English reading and writing skills. Individuals from minorities and disadvantaged groups are also encouraged to apply.
The maximum number of students accepted in each batch will not exceed 30. The course only accepts full-time students.
Detailed Programme Description
The diploma programme consists of two semesters of 14 weeks each, with additional time to prepare for the final examination at the end of each semester. In addition to the final examination, students will be graded on assignments, presentations and participation in class. Attendance is compulsory for all classes and all subjects. The medium of instruction, assignments, exams and class discussion shall be English.
The first semester began on Monday, 12 April. The graduation will take place at the end of December 2010. For details, see the academic calendar.
Classes will be held four days a week: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Students are required to be present on Wednesdays as well to prepare for the following days’ classes. Saturday and Sunday are weekend holidays. However, classes may be held on Sundays and Wednesdays to make up for holidays and unforeseen disruptions on other days. Students are expected to remain on the Nepā School premises from 9 am to 4 pm from Monday through Friday.
The courses offered in the first semester are:
1) Sociological Theory: From Classical to Contemporary Times (Sudhindra Sharma)
2) Introduction to Anthropological Perspectives (Mukta S. Lama [Tamang] and Jeevan Sharma)
3) Modern Political Thought (Hari Sharma)
4) Introduction to Academic English (Sarah Shepherd Manandhar)
The courses offered in the second semester are:
1. Feminism, Gender and Development (Bimbika Sijapati Basnett)
2. Advanced Readings in Comparative Social Sciences (coordinated by Hari Sharma)
3. Research Methods (Bandita Sijapati)
4. Introduction to Academic English: Semester Two (Wayne Redpath)
Semester I
1) Sociological Theory: From Classical to Contemporary Times
Sudhindra Sharma
Sociology is the study of human social life, groups and societies. Sociological theory tries to explain why human social life, groups and societies are the way they are and why they change. The scope of sociology and sociological theory is very wide: it ranges from the analysis of interaction between two individuals in the street to the examination of global social processes. While the early sociological theories sought to explain the emergence of industrialization in Europe in the nineteenth century, later sociological theories investigate the effects of global capitalist system and processes in the lives of the ordinary people.
There is not one but several competing theories that seek to explain why human social life, groups and societies are the way they are and why they change. Rival theoretical approaches and theories is an expression of the vitality of the sociological enterprise.
The objective of the course is to introduce students to various sociological theories. It aims to familiarize the students with the major sociologists and orientations and perspectives within sociology. It also aims to introduce the students to the texts produced by sociologists.
2) Introduction to Anthropological Perspectives
Mukta S. Lama (Tamang) and Jeevan Sharma
This is an introductory course in social and cultural anthropology—the study of human cultures in all their various forms. The course is designed to expose the students to some of the key ideas of the discipline by examining selected theories and perspectives in anthropology. Through readings and lectures, it explores how wider socio-cultural processes shape individual lives and how changes that occur around us influence our sense of the self and subjectivities. The main rationale of the course is to engage students with basic anthropological concepts and introduce them to the works of a select few anthropologists.
After successfully completing the course, the students will be able to appreciate the contribution of anthropological perspectives to make sense of cultures in their own terms and understand socio-cultural and political changes. The distinguishing features of anthropology are ethnographic fieldwork and participant observation, and it is comparative. Through a critical examination of the debate on problems about the field and ethnography—representation of the peoples ‘studied’—this course will provide a sense of the general approach anthropologists take when they study culture and contemporary socio-cultural and political issues and change. The course will, thus, enable students to analytically pursue anthropological enquiry and questions. By the end of the course, the students will learn what anthropology as a discipline is about, and gain the necessary background for advanced level courses.
Hari Sharma
The study of politics is shaped by concepts and methods that have developed over the last three centuries and beyond. The study of political theory is concerned with the meaning and justification of these concepts and their continuing relevance to the nature of modern politics. The course is primarily a reading of modern political thought as a part of the history of political thought.
The course familiarizes students with some of the major thinkers and movements within political thought and traces the major theoretical questions through modern period of the discipline: What is the purpose of politics? Is politics natural or positive? What is the role of coercion in politics? What is the relationship between the individual and society? How is gender significant to politics? The course also orientates the students to the manner in which modern political philosophers have addressed the core theoretical concepts of liberty, equality, human nature, virtue/morality, citizenship, law, religion, sovereignty and epistemology, among others. It explores rival theoretical frameworks like natural law, utilitarianism, egalitarianism, communitarianism and Marxism. It aims at cultivating students’ abilities for critically engaging with primary texts, participating in and contributing to the shared inquiry of theoretical dialogue, and writing clearly, concisely, and analytically. It will help students become more self-conscious of their assumptions about political life and develop their abilities to critically assess and evaluate complex theoretical arguments.
4) Introduction to Academic English
Sarah Shepherd Manandhar
This course is designed to provide students with a basic introduction to all aspects of Academic English. The course will review common writing conventions, advanced grammar points, and vocabulary from the Academic Word List developed by Averil Coxhead at Victoria University of Wellington. In addition, the course will introduce students to all elements of the writing processes, from writing basic sentences to engaging the academic literature in one’s own work. Students will also be expected to improve their reading, note-taking, and critical thinking skills, in order to best prepare them to be engaged readers and writers. The class will emphasise cumulative learning and students will be expected to demonstrate mastery of preceding lessons in each class in order to achieve the final goal of becoming proficient academic writers.
Semester II
1) Feminism, Gender and Development
Bimbika Sijapati Basnett
The major objective of this course is to introduce the class to feminist theories, and the ways in which competing understandings of ‘gender’ and ‘feminism’ have informed development thought and contemporary gender-related concerns in developing countries such as Nepal.
This is a foundational course which draws on a wide range of disciplines—geography, sociology, anthropology and development studies. The course hopes to cultivate an appreciation for gendered, ethnic, sexualized difference and intersectionality in understanding social issues as well as theoretical perspectives in the social sciences.
2) Advanced Readings in Comparative Social Sciences
Hari Sharma (coordinator)
This course is a reading course. We will read selected books, monographs and journal articles, critically debating methodological approaches, disciplinary boundaries, and interdisciplinary convergences and their contributions to the field and social sciences in general. This course will provide the students an opportunity to engage comparatively with various social science literature on Nepal. The reading seminar will be conducted jointly by the faculty of Nepā School and may include some invitees as well.
This is a weekly reading seminar/class and each class will be two to three hours long. The seminar will consist of a brief introduction of the issues/readings by the moderator followed by presentations on the readings by the students. All students will be expected to lead readings and make presentations over the course of the semester and also participate fully in the discussions.
Bandita Sijapati
This course on Research Methods is designed to introduce students to the fundamentals of social research, including research design, data collection, data analysis, validity testing, etc. The course is divided into four substantive sections: (a) quantitative research methods; (b) qualitative research methods; (c) research design; and (d) theory and methods.
An examination of these topics will provide students with both theoretical as well as applied tools in each of these areas of inquiry. The course will begin with discussions about the general logic of scientific inquiry, mainly, the relationship between science and social understanding. We will then move on to discussions about theoretical approaches to different types of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies while focusing also on the practical techniques of conceptualizing a research project, developing various research instruments, data collection, identifying respondents, data analysis, and presentation of findings.
4) Introduction to Academic English: Semester Two
Wayne Redpath
This course will build on the foundations of the first semester and continue the emphasis on creating a fluid and cumulative learning experience. Moreover, the second semester will also continue working from the academic vocabulary Word List developed by Averil Coxhead at Victoria University of Wellington. The course will become increasingly focussed on all aspects of academic English language usage and advanced grammar and composition. There will be a balance between productive (writing and speaking) and receptive (listening and reading) skills and will run concurrently with the other course subjects by sourcing tasks and writing and reading exercises from these subjects. This will make classes more realistic, practical and cognitively engaging for the students. A generative approach will be encouraged, where the students will consistently apply the English they are learning on a regular basis and incorporate the skills into their daily work. At the completion of the course the students will display the ability to write clearly, logically and fluently in academic prose and be able to critically analyse academic texts. Furthermore, they will be able to construct an argument and display proficiency in presenting their ideas and data in formal academic discourse that demonstrates a high level of competence in writing in a cohesive and coherent academic style.
Graduation Requirements
Upon successful completion of the two-semester course by passing the final exams and fulfilling all academic requirements, graduates will be awarded a Graduate Diploma in Social Sciences. In addition to the final exams, there will be compulsory attendance, class participation, regular tests, assignments and homework, all of which will, depending upon each course, contribute in varying proportions to the final grade.
Programme Fee
The fee for each semester must be paid in full before the classes begin.
Financial Aid
Financial aid is available to a limited number of students in the form of full and partial tuition fee waivers as well as partial stipends, and is awarded on the basis of need to meritorious students belonging to minority and economically and socially disadvantaged groups. If you want to apply for financial aid, check your eligibility and follow the instructions given on the application page.
Read about Nepā School’s equal opportunity policy on the Vision & Goals page.