Within the framework of the President Néstor Kirchner (PNK) Fellowship sponsored by the Observatory on Latin America (OLA) and the Universidad Nacional de San Martín (UNSAM) in Argentina, Sofía Bernat, from Argentina, successfully completed a two-week academic exchange at The New School in New York.

Sofia Bernat is PHD candidate in Journalism and Social Communication at the National University of La Plata in Argentina. She has recently submitted her dissertation to the doctoral commission. Sofia’s work is based on a four-year ethnography of the Ringuelet slum in La Plata, Argentina. She studies the relocation process after the flood on April 2, 2013. Her work describes and analyzes the different modes of organization, which arose prior and during the relocation process.

Seminars at The New School Community

On November 9, 2017 Sofía presented her work during a closed-door Seminar to receive detailed feedback on her ongoing research, but also to introduce her topic from a new perspective. The seminar was attended by New School Professors Nidhi Srinivas, Christopher London, Mariana Amatullo, and Margarita Gutman. They were joined by Masters and PhD students from the programs in Economics, Public and Urban Policies, and International Affairs.

During the seminar Sofía highlighted her work and research on the relocation process of the Ringuelet slum in La Plata, Argentina. Sofía explained how the two neighborhoods within Ringuelet show radically different ways of organization and participation. She emphasized how the different modes of participation in the relocation process created different ways of inhabiting the territory and different ways of demanding and expressing their right to the city.

Interviews and Visits in New York

Sofía spent most of her time meeting with experts in the fields of sociology, anthropology, and urban and public policy. She held individual meetings with New School Professors Vyjayanthi Rao, Nidhi Srinivas, Jilly Traganou, Evren Uzer, Rachel Heiman, Laura Liu, Gina Walker, Ujju Aggarwal, and Mindy Fullilove. She met with Professors Ron Shiffman and Ayse Yonder from the Pratt Institute, and Tom Angotti from Hunter College. She also met with Ethan Earle from Rosa Luxemburg Stifung and Achilles Kalergis from New York University. Furthermore, she held individual meetings with PhD and Master’s students Christina Handal Gonzalez, Anze Zadel, Isabel Saffon, Douglass Salathe, Paola Siclari, Paula Sagel, and Maria Carrizosa.

She was also a guest lecturer in Professor Gutman’s and Cohen’s graduate SGPIA class, “Urban Century. Theory and Practice” at the University Center.

Public Lecture at the Orozco Room

The culmination of her visit was her presentation during the Public Lecture, Peripheralization of the Poor: Symbolic Practices and Policy Analysis, which took place on November 15, 2017 at The New School. She was introduced along with our Brazilian Fellow Paulo Alas Rossi, by David Van Zandt, President of the New School. Mary Watson, Executive Dean of NSPE at the New School moderated the discussion. For more information about the public lecture, the presentation and comments click here.

+ Watch the video of the Public Lecture

+ What is it like to be a President Néstor Kirchner Fellow?, by Sofia Bernat

+ View/download Sofía’s Working Paper

+ Slideshow Presentation by Sofia Bernat (2.76 MB)