2013 Language Institute: Chandigarh, India

 

Note: Information below refers to the 2013 CLS Institutes and is subject to change.

Institute at a Glance: Chandigarh, India

Language
Beginning
Advanced Beginning
Intermediate
Advanced
Punjabi

Program Dates

Hosting Institution
June 9 - August 11, 2013 American Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS)

  • Beginning: No previous knowledge or study of Punjabi, up to 2 years of study or equivalent.
  • Advanced Beginning: Minimum requirements: completion of one year of college-level classes, or its equivalent, prior to the start of the program. Students should arrive in country comfortable with the script and sounds, basic vocabulary, and basic grammar.
  • Intermediate: Minimum requirement: completion of two years of college-level Punjabi, or its equivalent, prior to the start of the program.
  • Advanced: Minimum requirement: completion of three years of college-level Punjabi, or its equivalent, prior to the start of the program.
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Alumni Ambassadors

Student Activities

2011 CLS participant Maxwell Izenberg completed an independent project in Punjabi on the factors associated with the prevalence of rising obesity in Chandigarh. Max also volunteered at the Punjab State AIDS Control. Max writes, “Both experiences helped me to prepare to use my Punjabi for my public health research interests and in my future career in public health.”

Simrun Bal describes her final project and the ways that she integrated her professional interests in her Punjabi coursework:

 “Since I am deeply interested in medicine and global health, for my final project, I studied the connection between poverty and health in Punjab. I focused on studying health disparities (as a result of socioeconomic differences), and different illnesses that are correlated with these socioeconomic differences in Punjab, such as water-borne diseases, etc. I also talked briefly about different systems in place in Punjab, and whether they represent "quality" health services, such as free dispensaries, private health clinics, etc. I also discussed how the cycle of poverty is related to health, especially in terms of the rural/urban disparity.
        In the Punjabi program, since I was in the intermediate level, the teachers also invited a guest speaker (a physician in Chandigarh) who came to speak to my class when one of our weekly topics was health, and I was able to ask the guest speaker questions that were helpful in my project and oral presentation. In our visit to a Punjabi village, one of the teachers also helped coordinate a visit to the local physician/clinic, so I was able to ask him questions as well and incorporate that into my project. I really enjoyed working on the project, since it was exactly why I wanted to study Punjabi!
        With my language partner, I visited one of the branch locations (in Chandigarh) of an organization called All-India Pingalwara Charitable Society, which offers a home for mentally- or physically-handicapped individuals, as well as other important services for the destitute. Since I hope to work with underserved populations as a doctor, it was very eye-opening to see the different services they offered, and how passionate they were about serving the poor.”

Alumni Highlights

Brian Tilley was a participant in the 2007 CLS Punjabi Program. He is completing a PhD program in anthropology at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. This fall, Brian is beginning his dissertation research, and has been awarded funding from the National Science Foundation and the American Institute for Pakistan Studies (AIPS). Last summer, Brian received a FLAS grant from the South Asian Summer Language Institute to study Pashto. In Summer 2009, he received a FLAS grant from the Middle East Center at the University of Pennsylvania to study Arabic. Brian’s language expertise is integral to his research.

Jyoti Gaur was a 2011 CLS participant in Chandigarh who is now working with the Clinton Foundation in New York on measuring the commitments through their Clinton Global Initiative.