Courses

Pro-Seminar Course

Students participate in a Pro-Seminar course after arriving in Buenos Aires, led by the Regional Director and academic guests.

General Objectives

• Increase immersion in the local context.
• Augment one's understanding of Argentina’s social and political situation.
• Examine the region’s economic problems.

List of Pro-Seminar Topics

• Human rights and social change.
• Life and society in Argentina and Latin America.
• The challenges faced by the new local government.
• Memory and justice.
• Cultural identity.
• Comparison between urbanization in Buenos Aires and rural areas.
• Journalism in Argentina.
• History of the arts in the region.
• Culture: film, design, fashion and photography.

Methodology

The sessions take place twice a month, in the form of day/weekend trips and presentations given by academic specialists and/or Harvard faculty traveling to the region. Students will question, comment on, and discuss the different topics presented with the faculty and their peers. After each session, the student should critically analize and write a reflection or comment in their journal.

Evaluation

Every student will write a final research project, including reflections on their personal experiences and impressions of their study abroad semester — while also examining certain themes in more depth. The project consists of two sections, a journal and the final essay. Throughout the semester, students will write one diary entry every two weeks, recording a thought, reflecting on a topic from class, retelling a cultural encounter, or a personal experience. The final essay will explore, in more depth, one of the diary entries, or the Pro-Seminar topics based on their own observations and experiences. It should be at least ten pages, and typed in a single-spaced format.

Direct Enrollment in University Courses

After the orientation, the CASA Resident Director assists each student with their course enrollment at Buenos Aires' top local universities. Students must have their class selections approved by their home university to ensure credit transfer for their courses.

The Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA) is the largest university in Argentina and the highest-ranked public school. The UBA is best known for its excellent programs in philosophy and language and literature, in addition to its strong social sciences faculty. It is also home to one of Latin America's most respected earth science departments.

The Universidad Torcuato Di Tella (UTDT) hosts excellent professors in political science an international studies. Students concentrating in government will appreciate its courses offered in these subjects.

Students interested in economics will also be well-served at the Universidad de San Andrés, which specializes in business and economics.

Students interested in the arts will find excellent courses at the Universidad Nacional de las Artes.

Students have the option to follow pre-designed study tracks, or they may design their own course of study. Students may find it helpful to review a list of courses that were popular with students in the past:

Sample Economics Courses
Sample Popular Courses
Sample Social Science Courses