We propose establishing a summer Language School, a School Abroad and an academic-year language program. We believe that there is student demand to warrant such developments, and we know that there are sufficient South Asia-related courses and faculty to nurture and sustain student interest. This petition illustrates the student support of these goals.
Middlebury is the nation%u2019s leader in language education, but the lack of a South Asian language is a glaring gap. Adding a South Asian language and site to our offerings would be popular and profitable, and signal that Middlebury does indeed teach the world%u2019s major languages.
South Asia is a critical and rapidly changing region. Three of the ten most populated countries in the world are in South Asia (India is second, Pakistan is sixth and Bangladesh is seventh). Two South Asian languages (Hindi and Bengali) rank in the top ten of most-spoken languages in the world. Estimates range, but it is safe to say that at least 366 million people speak Hindi as their first language, with a further 121 million speaking it as their second language. If all of these Hindi speaker were to constitute a country, it would rank as the third most populous in the world.
Middlebury College has already hired a series of excellent professors who teach in a variety of subject areas related to South Asia. They encourage students to engage in and visit South Asia. Their work has been instrumental however we, the students, believe it is
time to have a more comprehensive and stream-lined manner to study and receive credit for South Asian studies.
