Social Policy and Social Movements in Latin America
- NINT 5272 - Social Policy and Social Movements in Latin America (Spring 2008)
This course will give students the opportunity of analyzing and discussing the new and controversial political, economic and social situation in the region with focus on social programs and human rights circumstances. In the last few years, Latin America has gained an interesting momentum against the Washington Consensus. A growing group of countries, at least rhetorically, opposes the neo-liberal policies instituted during the 1990s and, instead, tries to implement policies favoring of social justice. There is a lively and expanding debate, with quite different points of view, regarding the seriousness, commitment, sustainability and implications of these policy changes. Latin America has had some of the highest social disparity indicators of the world. Many of these indicators have worsened during the 1990s. Somewhat paradoxically, Latin America also has a long history in implementing social policies. The objective of the course will be to analyze and discuss the social situation in Latin America and the orientation of social programs that are implemented at present as ‘solution’ for social inequalities.
The course will be structured in three consecutive segments. First, we will analyze the mainstream thinking on these issues in Latin America, including distribution and redistribution policies, education, health and social insurance, and shelter policies. We will read Paolo Freire on education or Raul Prebich on economic development. Second, we will look at the ‘new’ orientations on social policy in the region such as Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programs and debate issues of rights, citizenship, inequality and exclusion. The third part focuses on new social movements, recognition, identity, discrimination and use of natural resources with special attention to women, indigenous and environmental movements. The course will be a combination of lectures, debates and student-led presentations of case studies. Students will work during the course in a comparative analysis of selected Latin American countries.
Concentration:Development