From an Experience Abroad to in situ Research

Wondering how an experience abroad can lead to a successful research project? The classes and the internships offered in the various W&M programs in La Plata, Argentina (semester study abroad program; and the Human Rights Sumer Intern Fellowship) have proven to be a fertile ground for in situ research for what eventually become honors theses and peer-reviewed publications.

While studying abroad in La Plata, Argentina, in spring 2023, Nicki Ganti (HIST & LAS Summa cum laude ’24) heard for the first time about political prisoner Milagro Sala, founder and leader of Organización Barrial Tupac Amaru, while participating at a protest in Buenos Aires, accompanied by members of the Comisión Provincial por la Memoria. Soon, Nicki learned that the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention decided that Sala, currently in prison, had been unfairly detained in 2016 and unsuccessfully demanded her immediate release. This event sparked Nicki’s interest, eventually leading to a successful Honors Thesis (History), “Organización Barrial Túpac Amaru: Indigenism as a Strategy for Cultural, Economic, and Social Inclusion in Argentina.” In it, Nicki studies the Organización Barrial Tupac Amaru, from its inception in the 1990s as a group seeking social justice, especially for indigenous minorities and the working class, through its reappropriation of territory in the Alto Comedero neighbourhood to create solidarity for members of pueblos originarios [indigenous communities], and its re-imagining of Argentina as a plurinational state.

Nicki served as a most valuable Teaching Assistant in the HISP program. She also received the Sue Herzog Johnson Scholarship (History) in support of her Honors Thesis, and the Excellence Award in Latin American Studies.

In the same cohort of W&M students in La Plata, Alyson Reynolds (IR & LAS Summa cum laude ’24) found herself diving into the Comisión’s archives of the Buenos Aires Province Police Intelligence Directorate to understand the role of queer activist in Argentina’s fight for Human Rights in recent decades. This led to a research paper that eventually found its way to the undergraduate research journal Portales, which is edited by undergraduate students from Columbia University and Barnard College and publishes outstanding scholarly research and creative work. Published in Spanish, Alyson’s “Militancia LGBTQ y el proyecto democrático en Argentina, 1967-2012” [“LGBTQ Activism and the Democratic Project in Argentina, 1967-2012”] claims that queer activism was not just part of a broader fight for human rights, but an important force in the strengthening of democracy in Argentina.

A Monroe Scholar & PBK inductee, Alyson did a Teaching Assistant internship with HISP. Alyson also served as a research collaborator with the International Justice Lab at the W&M Global Research Institute.

After spending summer of 2025 as a Human Rights Fellow interning with the Youth and Memory group of the Comisión Provincial por la Memoria, Hannah Deschler (HISP & PSYC ’26) decided she wanted to analyze systemic police brutality against young people in Buenos Aires. Under the mentorship of Prof. Catherine Brix, liaison to our programs in La Plata, Hannah is currently in the initial stages of an honors project. You can learn more about her project here.

The W&M semester program (fall & spring) in La Plata gives students the chance to take classes with our partner, the Comisión Provincial por la Memoria, and at the Universidad Nacional de La Plata, while doing an internship in one of the multiple areas of the Comisión. The Human Rights Summer Fellowship is a unique opportunity to spend summer in La Plata interning with the Comisión. The Comisión is one of the foremost Human Rights organizations in Latin America, and is presided by Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (1980).