Argentina: Regional Integration, Development, and Social Change

Faculty and Staff

Nuria Pena, Academic Director
Nuria Pena graduated from London Guildhall University in the UK with a major in political science and a minor in French. She later earned an MA in political science from Leiden University and an MA in development studies from Nijmegen University, both in the Netherlands. She is currently a PhD candidate in social sciences. While she was born in Argentina, Nuria has lived and worked 12 years abroad, mainly in London, Amsterdam, and Barcelona. Over the years, she continues to carry out consultancy work for international development agencies on issues relating to development with a focus on gender and development. She worked for Oxfam International for five years in various positions where she carried out several missions to West and Northeast Africa and parts of Latin America, mainly Brazil and Nicaragua.

Prior to becoming the academic director for the Argentina: Regional Integration, Development, and Social Change program, Nuria was the assistant director and interim academic director of the Argentina: Social Movements and Human Rights program.

Read Nuria Pena's complete CV.

María Eugenia Díaz, Program Coordinator
María Eugenia Díaz earned her degree in sociology from the University of Buenos Aires (UBA). She currently works as a researcher in the social sciences department of Centro Cultural de la Cooperación where she focuses on Argentina’s recovered factories movement in which workers took control of the factories and ran them as cooperatives. She is also a member of the Social Observatory on Worker-run Factories (OSERA) at the Gino Germani Research Institute (IIGG) of the University of Buenos Aires. At OSERA, she studies issues related to worker self-management, a form of workplace decision-making in which the workplace operates without a boss.

As program coordinator with SIT Study Abroad, she assists students with their field study, thematic seminars, and Independent Study Projects. She is also in charge of the general coordination of language studies.

Pablo Morgade, Program Assistant
As program assistant, Pablo manages program logistics and helps oversee the program’s day-to-day activities. He also assists students with any daily issues that may arise. He has been associated with SIT since 2002. Pablo received his diploma in journalism from the Lomas de Zamora University and Taller Escuela Agencia (TEA). He has worked as a freelance journalist for a number of Argentine national newspapers such as Pagina/12, La Nación, Clarín and La Maga. During the 1990s, Pablo worked in the Press and Cultural Promotion Department of the Secretary of Cultural Affairs and was also the host of a rock and roll radio show at FM La Boca. He is the co-author of Música y Dictadura – Porqué Cantábamos (Music and Dictatorship – Why we were singing).

Sampling of the professors for this program:

Marcela Cerrutti, Ph.D.
Dr. Cerrutti is in charge of the thematic seminar’s module on regional migration. Dr. Cerrutti holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Buenos Aires, a master’s degree in social sciences from the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO ARGENTINA), and a doctorate in sociology from the University of Texas at Austin. She is an adjunct member of the National Commission of Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET) and a full-time researcher for the Population Studies Center. She has received a number of scholarships and fellowships from important institutions such as the Ford Foundation, the Organization of American States, the Population Council of the Texas University at Austin, the Mellon Foundation, the Fogarty Program, the Antorchas Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, and the Jacobs Foundation, among others. She has been a consultant for international organizations such as CEPAL, CELADE, PNUD, and UNICEF.

Ernesto Cussianovich, M.A.
Mr. Cussianovich directs the thematic seminar’s module on Argentine history. He has a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Buenos Aires and has completed postgraduate studies in the UK and Spain. He holds a master’s in economic history form the London School of Economics and Political Science and a diploma in management of nonprofit organizations from the University of San Pablo CEU, Madrid. He is currently a professor at Torcuato Di Tella University, teaching courses on Argentine history and a seminar on the origins and evolution of the Peronist movement. Additionally, Mr. Cussianovich teaches a seminar on budget and taxation in the Public Policy Department at Torcuato Di Tella University. His current research is in the area of Argentine economic history with a focus on fiscal history and taxation. He has also worked as a teacher and researcher at the Universidad de Buenos Aires and as manager of governance and society at the British Council.

Laura Perelman, M.A.
Ms. Perelman directs the thematic seminar’s module on social change in Argentina. Ms. Perelman has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Buenos Aires and holds a master’s degree in political science from San Martin University. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Buenos Aires. She specializes in labor markets, government regulation, and union intervention in social conflicts. She has worked as an external consultant for the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Germán Pinazo, ABD
Germán Pinazo is in charge of the thematic seminar’s module on economic development. Pinazo holds a master’s in political economics with a focus on the Argentine economy from FLASCO (Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales). He is a doctoral candidate in social sciences at the National University of Buenos Aires. Currently, he is a professor and researcher of political economics at the National University of General Sarmiento. He is the author of several refereed articles, such as “Desarrollo latinoamericano en el marco de la globalización” (2011), working papers, and other publications.

Hernán Soltz, M.A.
Mr. Soltz is in charge of the thematic seminar’s module on regional economy. Mr. Soltz has a bachelor’s degree in economy from the University of Buenos Aires and is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the same university. He is a member of the Board of the National Commission of Foreign Trade (Ministry of Economy and Production). He is an adjunct researcher with the Globalization Study Program at the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO) in Buenos Aires. He currently teaches at different private and public universities.

Ivaldo Gehlen, Ph.D.
Ivaldo Gehlen is the academic coordinator of the program’s seminar in Porto Alegre, Brazil. He is also a senior professor at Federal University of Rio Grande Do Sul (UFRGS). Dr. Gehlen holds a B.S. in sociology from Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (1975), a master’s degree in sociology from UFRGS, Brazil, and a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Paris X, Nanterre, France. He specialized in adult learning and integral rural development at the Regional Center for Adult Learning in Mexico. Dr. Gehlen’s research areas are: social movements and agrarian reform in southern Brazil, rural settlements, inequality and social differences, social training in rural areas, agro-industry, and assessment of social realities in rural areas. He has taught classes on planning and management of projects for rural development as well as social inequality in rural areas.

Alvaro Hugo Rico Fernández, Ph.D.
Alvaro Rico is the academic coordinator of the program’s seminar in Montevideo, Uruguay. Additionally, he is a senior professor and researcher at the University of the Republic Uruguay. He holds a doctorate in philosophy from Moscow State University, Russia. In recent years, he has been part of a major and groundbreaking research project on the disappeared, state terrorism, and human rights violations under the last Uruguayan dictatorship (1973-1985). He is currently working on a research project on ideology and social imagination in Uruguayan recent history.

Quintin Riquelme, M.A.
Quintin Riquelme is the academic coordinator of the program’s seminar in Asunción, Paraguay. He has a master’s degree in development with a concentration in social anthropology and the environment from the National University of Asunción (Paraguay). He is a senior researcher at the Interdisciplinary Center for Rural Studies (CERI) and at the Center for Documentation and Studies (CIEE). He also serves as Department Chair for the Faculty of Philosophy at the National University of Asunción. He is the author of Without Land in Paraguay: land conflicts and peasant movement (2003), CLACSO.

Credits: 16

Duration: 15 weeks

Program Base: Argentina, Buenos Aires

Language Study: Spanish

Prerequisites: Coursework in sociology, political science, economics, or development studies; 4 semesters Spanish Read more...