Michael Bowler (Syracuse University)

submitted: Wed, 7 Jun 1995 23:50:09 -0400 (EDT)

Michael B. Bowler
Ph.D. candidate
Social Science Program
The Maxwell School
Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY 13244-1090   USA

phone: 315-424-7586
email: mbbowler@mailbox.syr.edu

Description of work: 

I am currently completing my dissertation on participation and the
dynamics of the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (the largest
Bangladeshi NGO) in a village in the district of Jessore in southwestern
Bangladesh.  This ethnography will also include chapters about the
vulnerability of widow-headed families and the employment of villagers. 

I am primarily interested in development issues in Bengal (Bangladesh 
and West Bengal in India, the Bengali speaking region of South Asia).  
Other research interests include U.S. development assistance and 
international policy toward South Asia, U.S. perceptions of South Asia, 
and South Asian migration and refugee issues.  My research has included 
both Hindu and Muslim populations.  

 Courses taught include an interdisciplinary course at Syracuse 
University on Global Community which includes units on Islam and local 
communities in South Asia.  While I am an interdisciplinary social 
scientist, my research methods have primarily been anthropological with a 
micro-level focus.  However, many of my research interests also involve a 
macro-level focus and are related to international relations.