SCID Summer Field Research Assistant - New Delhi, India
The Stanford Center for International Development is pleased to announce openings for the Summer Undergraduate Field Research Assistant Program. This RA will be working under the supervision of Saumitra Jha on research studying peaceful protests as a means for political change, drawing on India's independence movement.
The Technology of Peaceful Protests as a Means for Political Change
There were moments in the twentieth century when activists believed non-violent civil disobedience would change the process of political reform forever. Yet despite notable successes of movements that adopted this political technology – from the Suffragette Movement, to India's mass mobilization for independence, to the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. South – there have been many failures and partial successes. Beyond the question of mobilizing support, there is a key organizational challenge: mass movements that start peaceful often turn violent, providing license to states to repress such movements with violence. This project analyzes the external economic and internal organizational incentives under which civil disobedience movements succeed and fail. The research draws from novel, recently declassified intelligence data on non-violent and violent mobilization during three epochs of India's independence movement.
The summer undergraduate RA will be tasked with collecting primary and hitherto untapped archival materials on the Indian Independence movement. The work will entail accessing national, police, and domestic intelligence archives from the colonial era, both in New Delhi and in a few Indian state capitals. The work will involve scanning original documents and entering and analyzing data.
Each undergraduate RA will receive a stipend to cover travel and living expenses. The minimum time commitment is six weeks, and stipends will be pro-rated if the total time commitment is less than ten weeks. In advance of travel abroad, participating students will attend an orientation session on conducting research in developing countries and compliance with Stanford University policies. Students will also be eligible to present their work at a student conference in the fall quarter.
Faculty supervisor: Saumitra Jha (GSB)
- Gain first-hand experience in field research on international economic development
- Spend up to ten weeks in India to conduct research for Stanford politcial economy professor Saumitra Jha
- Access national, police, and domestic intelligence archives from the colonial era to scan original archival documents on the Indian independence movement
Due to the type of funding, this program is available only to current Stanford undergraduates. Students must be enrolled for both the preceding spring quarter and the following fall quarter.
To apply, please send a CV, a letter of interest, dates of availability, and an unofficial transcript to Emily Miller at emily.miller@stanford.edu. Applications are due by February 27, 2017. Interviews will be conducted before spring break.
