Mary Beth Rauktis, a Research Associate Professor in the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work, was awarded a grant by the Fulbright Specialist Program, part of the larger Fulbright Program, to travel to Assam India in August, 2022.
She will be working with the faculty and students at Don Bosco University, a Catholic institution founded by the Salesians of the Don Bosco Society. The social work program at Don Bosco is young, although social work in India is not a new profession. The school offers a two-year MSW program and a doctoral program at the Tapesia campus. The research agendas of the faculty are in the areas of resolving conflict, participatory action research, and mental health.
Dr Rauktis’ seminars will touch on subjects including Global Perspectives of Social Work, Locating the self in the journey of social work, Child and Family Centred Social Work Practice: Principles & Approaches, and Diversity and Social Work, and Human Rights and Children and Young Persons, among other topics. She will also assist the faculty in preparing their textbook on community engaged practice and research.
Dr. Rauktis chose the location because she is interested in the area of Northern India close to the borders of Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar and China. “It is a different cultural climate than other states in India” explains Dr. Rauktis; “colonized by the British for tea plantation profit, but with strong cultural and ethnic identity sometimes at odds with the state of India. There are also recent climate refugees from Bangladesh in the region, as well as long established communities of Muslims. One example of how the tension of national and local is manifested is seen in the debate about the national declaration for Hindi to be taught in schools rather than Assamese or other dialects. The tension between nationalistic connectors such as language, and the desire for cultural, ethnic and religious individuality is a global issue. Social work globally is expert in working in spaces where there is a tension between mezzo and macro forces. My hope is to help the faculty and the students to be able to articulate, through research, publications and dissemination, how they successfully help their clients within this context.”
The Fulbright Specialist Program pairs highly qualified U.S. academics and professionals with host institutions abroad to share their expertise, strengthen institutional linkages, hone their skills, gain international experience, and learn about other cultures while building capacity at their overseas host institutions.