Report Launch on Rural Transformation by Anthropology Students
On the 15th of February 2024, the students of Anthropology, Department of Economics and Social Sciences held a report launch program at the DSL Training Lab in the Ayesha Abed Library for a report they wrote during their ANT331: Rural Society course. The report, titled “Nuances of Transformation: A Study on the Rural Society of Bangladesh”, covers chapters based on ethnographic studies of the changing rural society in Bangladesh, soon to be published with the help of Ayesha Abed Library and Open Society University Network (OSUN) on the Library website.
The guest speaker for the event was Khadija Bilkis, Senior Technical Advisor for USAID who presented some valuable words for the students based on her 30 years of experience working in rural development, and her speech focused on the transformations she saw within that period.
The report was based on fieldwork conducted in rural Mymensingh from the 25th to the 27th of July 2023, with 15 students from the ANT331: Rural Society course, headed by Professor Shahidur Rahman. The 3-day fieldwork included Charshihari and Islampur villages in Ishwarganj upazila and Churali village of Gouripur upazila of Mymensingh, documenting the transformations within these villages. Covering topics of the domestic unit and social organization, religion, marriage, land inheritance and disputes, governance, agriculture, migration, rural economy, rural politics, health, and education, the report was authored by 12 students. The authors were Tahia Samrin, Amarrah Ahmed, Shakira Sharothi, Adiba Amreen, Ahmed Khan, Kinnory Boishakhi, Arnab Fouzder, Masuma Warda Khan, Iffat Sumaiya Mehjabeen, Mahima Chowdhury, Ruhaima Ridita and Atiqur Rahman Priom. The editing and cover designs were also done by the students, all of whom were authors of the report. The launch also featured a screening of a documentary prepared by one of the students on the fieldwork, as well as interview testimonials from the students and the faculty.
