This course aims to deepen students’ understanding of development, governance, and inequality in Asia through the integration of academic study, immersive fieldwork, and community-based service-learning. Students will examine how local actors—governments, NGOs, and communities—negotiate the goals and consequences of development. Through direct collaboration with partner organisations in rural and urban field sites, students will co-create knowledge and contribute to meaningful community initiatives.

Specifically, the course seeks to:

• Cultivate critical awareness of how development theories translate into lived realities;
• Explore structural dynamics of inequality and governance through experiential learning;
• Build ethical, practical, and intercultural competencies in field research and service engagement;
• Foster reflective, reciprocal, and respectful partnerships with communities;
• Encourage civic responsibility and professional growth through critical reflection.