Research Description

Shifting Sands: When Hope for a Promising Future is Not Necessarily in the Cards

I would like to say that it will be easy to describe my project to you, but in reality, the description has been changing as much as the situation- every day. To provide an idea, when I wrote my proposal in February of this year, there was a king in power of a country. Today, Nepal exists as a newly formed republic, and the Shah dynasty that ruled for the past two hundred and forty years is no more.

It is my contention to travel to Kathmandu City, Nepal with my mentor Dr. Edmund Kellerman so that we may conduct first-hand research. I will be taking a sociological approach to investigate the historical influences of the political situation using an interview methodology. Interviews will be conducted one on one and in focus groups. I wish to examine just how the Nepali people have overcome their political strife and ethnic tensions to forge a harmonious society. And ultimately, I hope to discover how faith in a powerful elite factors in to the daily lives of the people. In a country characterized by such pervading political corruption, it has come to the point where hope for a positive future seems almost impractical.

There is a significant relationship between the governing party and the discord that has been a characteristic of Nepal’s history. And this relationship’s strength of influence evolves throughout the region in political and social contexts. Given that this is an incredibly multiethnic society, I wish to see how much and what kind of participation by the citizens within their communities could be used to prevent, or at least cope with, the conflict and uncertainty. Lastly, by visiting orphanages around the city, I intend to identify the effects on the younger populations with regards to the institution of education.