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New Jersey Scholars Program

Notes: NJSP is an intensive inter-disciplinary academic summer program for thirty-nine of the most intelligent, outgoing, and highly motivated New Jersey residents who have completed their junior year and are "rising seniors." The five-week residential program takes place at The Lawrenceville School and is funded by private contributions.

The 2008 topic INDIA, PAKISTAN, and BANGLADESH: One History. Three Countries. SharedFuture. will be repeated in 2009. Details about the program and application process will be posted in October on the NJSP website -- www.lawrenceville.org/njsp -- at the same time applications and information are mailed to the Guidance Departments of all New Jersey high schools and parochial and private schools with high schools. Applications are coordinated by Guidance Departments and there is a rigorous application process. Applications due in early January. For further information contact the NJSP office at njsp@lawrenceville.org or call 609-620-6106. Office hours are Tuesday-Thursday.

INDIA, PAKISTAN, and BANGLADESH:
One History. Three Countries. Shared Future.

The Republic of India, the world’s largest democracy. The Islamic Republic of Pakistan, homeland of some of our earliest human settlements. The People’s Republic of Bangladesh, currently one of the world’s most densely populated countries. Nearly 1.4 billion people today live in one of these three countries. Prehistory and history meet on the banks of the Indus River, ancient civilizations passed through these lands, and tales of political intrigue and transformation continue to dominate our news.

Join the New Jersey Scholars Program for an in depth exploration of the history and politics, literature, art and music, and religion of these three key South Asian countries. How does the watershed year of 1947 continue to impact lives today? How will General Musharraf’s government be remembered? Why and how did East Pakistan transition into Bangladesh? Students will also explore the literature of the region and readings will include works by Salman Rushdie, Jhumpa Lahiri, and the first Asian winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913, Rabindranath Tagore. The study of music and art from the region is also central to a clear understanding of shifts in culture and expression: how has Islamic architecture affected the region and reflected its culture?; what are the key themes in a typical Bollywood movie?; how is Indian music constructed around melodies rather than harmonic chord changes? Finally, a clear appreciation of religious and philosophical traditions is essential to our study. From an analysis of ancient Vedic rituals to explorations of Zoroastrian, Muslim, Hindu, Jain, Buddhist, and Sikh beliefs, students will dive into the world of rich insight, philosophical reflections and ritual beauty.

India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. A serious scholar of world history and contemporary politics can not ignore the significant contributions of these nations to our global community. Join the New Jersey Scholars Program in an inspiring, challenging, and insightful study of South Asian history, politics, art, music, literature, religion and philosophy and discover a wondrous world.