Home Institution

Washington University in St. Louis

Publication Date

Spring 2014

Program Name

Argentina: Social Movements and Human Rights

Abstract

The system of popular education in Argentina consists of community based- schools affiliated with social movements that seek to subvert the power structures that dominate the state-run education in order to promote a new generation of activists. Although the schools receive government funding, they exist more or less outside the regular educational system, which gives them a unique opportunity to form their own community norms in order to create an educational environment that reflects their leftist ideals. The present work seeks to explore the definitions of respect and equality between the genders within the community of the school “Vientos del Pueblo.” To this end, I observed classes and a community gender workshop and interviewed three students, two female and one male, and the teachers of the second year. Through my analysis of these materials, I found that the group’s priorities gave precedence to individual relationships over disagreements or controversies about larger topics. However, I also found tensions within the community with regard to the definitions of respect and the search for balance between having a free discourse and mitigating the effects of machismo in conversations about gender.

Disciplines

Education | Other Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

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