Global Studies professor Michael Bowler, who spent 25 years studying poverty and sustainable development, and graduate assistant of special education Sabah Haq present  “The Digital Age in Bangladesh: Leapfrogging Culture and Ethics?” as a part of the CLASP Lecture Series in Stark Hall on Wednesday, Feb. 1 at 7 p.m.

Following the Winona State theme of “Our Digital Humanities,” the focus was centered on how the digitalization of human lives affects society as a whole, and how it changes the cultural dynamic.

The nation of Bangladesh is a Southeast Asian country between India and Myanmar, consisting of nearly 57,000 square miles of farmland and crowded river deltas.

The discussion walked the audience through the process of how the people of Bangladesh “leapfrogged” their way to a higher point of technology, skipping steps in the traditional progression of technology.

Bangladesh used to be a place where making a phone call to the next big city, even if only 20 kilometers away, would take 10 minutes and with a poor connection, if the caller is lucky.

“Now the women are more independent,” Haq said. “They can do business with the urban side of the country using cell phones.”