Summary: | In this book, eight substantive chapters examine how "developing" countries such as Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Mexico confronted the pandemic-driven online education shift. As local instruments, resources, and preferences of specific universities meshed with global platforms, ideas, and knowledge, the book addresses several questions. Was the mix too flaky to survive increasing competitiveness? Were countries capable enough to absorb mammoth software technological changes? Throwing a "developed" country (the United States) in for contrast, the book elaborates on the inequities between these countries. Some of these inequalities were economic (infrastructural provisions and accesses), others involved gender (the role of women), political (the difference between public and private universities), social (accessibility across social spectrum), and developmental (urban-rural divides). In doing so, new hypotheses on widening global gaps are highlighted in the book for further investigation. Imtiaz A. Hussain founded the Global Studies & Governance Department (GSG) at Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB, 2016), after serving in Philadelphia University and Universidad Iberoamericana (1990-2014). He has published over 20 academic books, journal articles and newspaper pieces that cover many regions (Afghanistan, the Atlantic area, Latin and North America, and South Asia), touching on diverse topics (the environment, politics, refugees, security, trade). He received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania (1989). Jessica Tartila Suma is a Senior Lecturer at the Global Studies & Governance Department (GSG) at Independent University, Bangladesh. She is also a doctoral student in the College of Architecture, Planning, and Public Affairs (CAPPA) at the University of Texas, Arlington, and holds a Master's in Political Science (Rutgers University). She completed both her Master's in Development Studies (2013) and BSS (Honors) in Media and Communication (2008) at IUB, and has a keen interest in foreign policy, humanitarian assistance, refugee education, as well as political, communication, democratic transitions. She also served as Deputy Director of IUBs Centre for Pedagogy (2020-21).
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