How to Apply

Please prepare a CV and concise cover letter expressing your interest in the module and upload it here.

In your cover letter I suggest you focus on your interests in participatory development, etc. Avoid elaborating on how you like to travel recreationally.

In 2015, the course will run May 11 - June 20.

If you have additional questions about the module, please email A/P Peter Vail at USP.

Course Description

Participatory Social Development in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia is widely regarded as a model for economic development due to its advances in alleviating poverty, improving infrastructure, and fostering education and healthcare. But economic success often overshadows critical social problems that arise in tandem with such rapid development. This module, offered only in special summer sessions, takes a hands-on approach to examining critical issues in social development, in particular those revolving around local empowerment, democratization, and sustainability. Working within a framework of participatory action research, and collaborating with peers at another ASEAN university, this rigorous course includes substantial fieldwork conducted among development projects outside of Singapore.

The module is divided into four sections
1. Preparation (at Chiang Mai U, roughly May 12-20)
2. PAR Methodology Training (at Chiang Mai U, roughly May 20-24)
3. Fieldwork (in ongoing development projects in Northern Thailand, roughly May 24-June 12)
4. Presentations and Consolidation (at NUS, roughly June 12-20)

1. Preparation
The first ~10 days of the module will be devoted to academic preparation in the classroom. We will work with our collaborating students and faculty at Chiang Mai University, studying issues of development, participation, and democratization. Classroom sessions will combine readings, critical discussion, and guest lectures on topics germane to participatory development.

2. PAR Methodology Workshop
Towards the end of the classroom prep we will have an intensive 3-4 day Participatory Action Research (PAR) workshop, led by A/P Sommai Chinnak of Ubon Ratchathani University and Dr. Alexandra Denes of Chiang Mai U. This will be an entirely hands-on workshop training students how to go about working in communities and through a translator.

3. Fieldwork
After the PAR workshop, students (in groups of about 4), together with a translator, will be embedded in an ongoing grassroots development project. This year, we will continue our research in Mae Chaem district, Chiang Mai province, in which several salient issues are being contested and negotiated by local villagers. These include (among others issues) resisting the Mae Chaem dam project, developing elephant tourism, mitigating the deleterious effects of cash-cropping, maintaining traditional swidden agriculture, local initiatives in environmentalism (especially forestry), and the nature of cultural change and adaptation among indigenous peoples. The work here will combine academic approaches to grassroots development with a small-scale project of benefit to the community in which students work.

4. Presentation and Consolidation
We will close out the course in Singapore (everyone, including CMU students) presenting projects and consolidating research findings in a collaborative multimedia research report. 
The course ends on June 20.

Here are the sorts of things we might read (this list is tentative!):
Banerjee, Subhabrata Bobby. 2003. Who Sustains Whose Development? Sustainable Development and the Reinvention of Nature Organization Studies 24:1 pp. 143-180

Bebbington, Anthony and Sam Hickey. 2008. Can NGOs Make a Difference?: The Challenge of Development Alternatives London: Zed Books

Conran, Mary. 2011. They Really Love Me! Intimacy in Volunteer Tourism Annals of Tourism Research, 38:4 pp. 1454–1473

Escobar, Arturo. 1988. Power and Visibility: Development and the Invention and Management of the Third World Cultural Anthropology 3:4 pp. 428-443

Escobar, Arturo. 1992. Reflections on 'Development': Grassroots Approaches and Alternative Politics in the Third World Futures pp. 411-436

Freire, Paolo. 2005 [1970]. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum.

Guttentag, Daniel A. 2009. The Possible Negative Impacts of Volunteer Tourism International Journal of Tourism Research 11, pp. 537–551

Hewison, Kevin. 2000. Resisting globalization: a study of localism in Thailand The Pacific Review 13:2 pp. 279-296

Johnson, Craig, and Timothy Forsythe. 2002. In the Eyes of the State: Negotiating a ''Rights-Based Approach'' to Forest Conservation in Thailand World Development 30:9 pp. 1591-1605

Käkönen, Mira. and Philip Hirsch. 2009. The anti-politics of Mekong knowledge production in: Francois Molle, Tira Foran, and Mira Kakonen eds. Contested Waterscapes in the Mekong Region: Hydropower, Livelihoods and Governance London: Routledge pp. 333-356

Kindon, Sara, Rachel Pain, and Mike Kesby. 2007. Participatory Action Research: Origins, Approaches, and Methods in: Participatory Action Research Approaches and Methods: Connecting People, Participation, and Places Routledge pp. 9-18

Missingham, Bruce. 2003. Forging solidarity and identity in the assembly of the poor: from local struggles to a national social movement in Thailand Asian Studies Review 27:3, 317-340

Parntep Ratanakorn. 2002. The role of NGOs in the management of domesticated elephants in Thailand. in: Giants on our hands. Proceedings, Baker, I.(Ed.) Kashio, M.(Ed.).- Bangkok (Thailand): FAO, 2002. International Workshop on the Domesticated Asian Elephant, International Workshop on the Domesticated Asian Elephant, Bangkok (Thailand),5-10 Feb 2001. pp. 227-229

Polladach Theerapappisit. 2009. Pro-poor Ethnic Tourism in the Mekong: A Study of Three Approaches in Northern Thailand, Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research 14:2 pp. 201-221

Prasartset, S., Lele, J. 1996. The rise of NGOs as critical social movements in Thailand. in: Lele, J., Tettey, W. eds. Asia - who pays for growth? Women, environment and popular movements. Aldershot, UK: Dartmouth Publishing Co. pp. 62-75

Rigg, Jonathan. 1991. Grass-Roots Development in Thailand: A Lost Cause? World Development 19:2/3 pp. 199-211

Salas, Maria Angelica, and Hermann J. Tillman. 2010. Participatory Action Research: Embracing the Knowledge Perspective within Field Research. Chiang Mai: RCSD.

Wang, Jianhua Ayoe, and Gary Morrison eds. 2009. PAR in Practice: Qualitative and Participatory Action Research Methods. Chiang Mai: RCSD.

Worawan Chandoevwit. 2003. Thailand's Grass Roots Policies TDRI Quarterly Review 18:2 pp. 3-8

Collaboration and Fieldwork

Collaboration
We will work together with students in the international BA program at Chiang Mai University's Regional Center for Social Sciences and Sustainable Development (RCSD). Chiang Mai University is the academic leader in participatory social development in mainland Southeast Asia, with a highly engaged faculty, prolific publishing and a premium on student field research.

Fieldwork
We will focus our fieldwork on May Chaem District in Chiang Mai Province. Mae Chaem district is about two hours south of Chiang Mai city, in the shadow of Doi Inthanon, Thailand's tallest mountain. It is a stunningly beautiful region, home to Northern Thai lowlanders and indigenous mountain groups including Karen and Lu'a. Ethnically diverse and historically/culturally rich, Mae Chaem is currently facing enormous changes in the face of state-imposed development projects and the region's integration into the global economy. Be prepared: some of the field sites we will work in are remote and may lack amenities you are accustomed to in Singapore. Some may be accessible only by four-wheel drive vehicles.

Assessment

Here is the short version for the breakdown in how the module will be graded:

Here is the long version, with descriptions of all the work:

Class participation 20%
Given the participatory nature of the module content, substantial weight is given to class participation. Specifically, this refers to your involvement in the discussion of course readings, engagement in class workshops, interaction with partner students from CMU during the time you are scheduled to be working on course materials, and your alacrity in pursuing research objectives in the field.

Project 1 (Preparation) 25%
The graded activities in this part of the module include a literature review that will be incorporated into your research, and short reflections on integrating the different readings to predict and assess emergent issues.

Project 2 (Community Project) 30%
The module will provide flexibility for you to design your own project relevant to the course topic and the needs of your field sites. This exemplifies the approach to action research undertaken in the class, in which social research should benefit, in some palpable respect, the community being researched. Types of deliverables that are envisioned could include (but are not restricted to): a documentary film, a public relations campaign, instructional manuals, educational/workshop materials, a fund-raising program, an environmental assessment report, a platform for networking among other communities facing similar issues (network building), among others.

The projects will be assessed with the following key questions in mind:
1. Is the proposed project feasible within the timeframe of the module (and was it completed)?
2. Does the project demonstrably incorporate the principles of participatory action research methodology (studied in the preparatory phase of the module)?
3. How does the project demonstrate reflexivity, awareness, and appropriateness to your role in the development project you work in?
4. How does the project palpably benefit the community that it addresses?
5. Does the project incorporate an academic understanding of the issue being addressed, based on course readings/lectures, and the literature review prepared earlier?
6. Does the project specify how each member of the team contributes to the project?

Properly scoping the project plays a key role both in designing and producing it. Because this is a compressed summer module, no extensions will be granted or incompletes assigned as a mark. If you wish to elaborate or expand your course project in other venues, or for other purposes (e.g. ISMs), you must do so outside of the constraints of this module.

Properly scoping the project plays a key role both in designing and producing it. Because this is a compressed summer module, no extensions will be granted or incompletes assigned as a mark. If you wish to elaborate or expand your course project in other venues, or for other purposes (e.g. ISMs), you must do so outside of the constraints of this module.

Project 3 (Reflection) 25%
At the end of the fieldwork, we will reconvene as a class at NUS, and each student will design a blog/webpage in which you present and reflect on your project and your participation in the community's development. This reflection will be assessed on the veracity of its insights, the extent to which the discussion is embedded in the academic preparation with which we started the course, and the way in which the project is shown to have been of benefit to the community.

Logistics

If you take this module, you won't be able to take another during the second special session in summer!

If you are interested in the course, please email A/P Vail. See the How to Apply page.

This course is very fun but it is also challenging and it requires intensive engagement. If your goal is simply to complete unit requirements over the summer session, this is probably not the course for you.

For the fieldtrip:

We strive to make this course cheap, exciting, and fun.

But you will likely be in some remote areas, so you need to prepare accordingly.

Communication
In Chiang Mai city, you will have easy access to the internet, and you can purchase a local sim card for your phone to avoid roaming charges in Singapore.

Once in the field, depending on the community you choose to work in, you may or not may not have regular/reliable internet access or mobile signal. If you are in a fieldsite with no connectivity, but need to do something online urgently (contact parents, register for classes) we will arrange access.

Health
Health issues, like vaccinations and other preventative care, are your responsibility. Consult your family doctor or medical professional for appropriate advice well in advance of the course. The fieldwork will be chiefly in Mae Chaem district, Chiang Mai province. It is a mountainous, heavily forested region.

If you take prescription drugs, make sure you bring enough for the duration of the trip. If possible, bring some spare medicine (at least 2-3 days worth) that you keep separate (i.e. with someone else) in case of emergencies.

We recommend wearing glasses rather than contact lenses. Everyday toiletries can be found easily and cheaply in Chiang Mai, and therefore it is not necessary to lug these along.

Accommodation
While in Chiang Mai city, we will stay at the University's hostel, which should cost no more than S$13 (THB300) per person per night. In the field, students will be in small groups and will stay with local villagers in their respective communities. The accommodation costs for staying in the community will be negotiated when we get to the field, but in any event it will not be more than the University hostel--possibly substantially less, depending on the community.

Food
Chiang Mai city has great, cheap food of every variety imaginable. Food in the field, though, depends on your particular fieldsite.... but no worries, we should be able to accommodate all sorts of dietary restrictions, including vegetarian and halal.

Food costs in the field will be cheap, but must also be negotiated with each community when we get there. It is likely to be less than S$3 per meal.

Passports and Visas
Make sure your passport has at least 6 months validity. The airline may deny you boarding if you have even a day less than six months on your passport.

If you are Singaporean, Thai visas are not required. If you are not Singaporean, you need to check what the visa requirements are, and prepare accordingly. (If you need a visa or visa-on-arrival, be sure to bring passport-sized photos for visa applications).

Packing
We will have a FB page set up before the beginning of the module, and start a thread to discuss packing sensibly.

Costs

Costs
My team works very hard to make the field trip as affordable as possible. The costs include:

Food
Cheap food on Chiang Mai University campus is about S$1.50 a meal. Food in town will be slightly more, but still very cheap. Food in the field sites has to be negotiated, but will be about $3 per meal or likely even less. Note that food, unlike the other costs listed below, is not subsidized by USP.

Accommodation
(apprx. S$13 when in Chiang Mai city, same or less when in the field-- to be negotiated with the communities)
You will be in Chiang Mai city a total of about 7-8 nights.
You will be in the field a total of about 23 nights.

Translation and Local Transportation
The translator costs depend on how many students enroll. It should come out to about S$300 per person for the duration of the trip.
Local transportation in Chiang Mai is cheap -apprx S$1.
Overland transportation to Mae Chaem will be supplied by Chiang Mai University.
Local transportation between Mae Chaem district and the fieldsites will be arranged by me and CMU faculty with an assortment of 4-wheel drive vehicles.

Airfare
(there is now, happily, a direct flight to Chiang Mai on Tiger Air)

Subsidies
Selected USP students will bear 50% of the total programme costs while USP will pay the remaining 50%. For Tembusu and CAPT students, please contact your RC for more information regarding subsidies from your respective colleges. USP, Tembusu and CAPT students are also eligible to apply for the NASA awards to further defray the costs of the programme.

Total Costs
The total programme cost per student is currently in the range of $1800 - $2100 (subject to flight availability and number of students). As USP will cover 50% of programme costs for USP students, USP student fees will be approximately $900 – $1050 per student. For Tembusu and CAPT students, please contact your RC for further information.
The fees include programme costs (including accommodation and field logistics), airfare and insurance. It excludes food, visa (where applicable) and personal expenses.