Argentina: Regional Integration, Development, and Social Change

Examine the social and economic development strategies of South America’s Southern Cone countries – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

Spring 2012 student Antonia DeMichiel (University of Oregon) combines personal goals and academic interests: Her ISP examines the gap between Argentina’s accessibility laws and their implementation, specifically within Buenos Aires. Read more.

In this comparative study abroad program, students can rapidly improve their Spanish while exploring the current economic and social realities of the countries comprising the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR). Students visit three of the four MERCOSUR member states during group excursions.

The program takes advantage of the many factors that make the region so fascinating to study at this particular moment in history. Through the distinct lens each country offers, students consider the social, political, and economic challenges and opportunities these countries are facing in light of domestic, regional, and global shifts and processes of integration. Topics of study include:

Changing political frameworks in Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay
Debates surrounding new economic development models
The development of unique grassroots movements
Current social and political challenges

While living in cosmopolitan Buenos Aires—where the program is based—students attend thematic seminar lectures, receive intensive instruction in Spanish, and share daily life with their Argentine host family.

During field visits to NGO headquarters and government and nonprofit entities, students explore relevant issues such as the role of government and civil society in development, alternative development strategies, participatory democracy, political and social grassroots movements, and cultural identity. Students also gain insight into the different countries' view of MERCOSUR, including its perceived benefits and problems.

Lecturers for the program are drawn from prestigious institutions such as:

Instituto de Desarrollo Económico y Social (Institute for Social and Economic Development)
University of Rosario
Southern Federal University of Rio Grande
University of the Republic in Montevideo
Centro de Documentación y Estudio (Center for Research and Documentation)

Experience the profound transformations underway in South America’s Southern Cone.
The 2001-2002 Argentine crisis and its subsequent effects in the region sparked a profound debate on development strategies and political systems. In the context of this crisis, the program looks at questions and themes including:

Is regional integration a way to overcome political and economic crises?
What social and political changes are promoted by the region’s different social movements?
What development alternatives are available to countries in the region?
What can we learn from the way Argentina’s crisis unfolded?

Students interested in issues of regional integration, development, and social change will find the Southern Cone particularly compelling.

SIT Study Abroad alumna describes how her experience studying abroad in Argentina positioned her for future academic success, including receiving a Fulbright grant.

"Studying with SIT in Argentina gave me the opportunity to understand development and social change at a personal level and provided me with links to real communities and people whose daily lives are deeply affected by global integration and development." Read more.

Browse this program's Independent Study Projects/Undergraduate Research

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...