Strengthening our Network from Argentina: Three New PhDs in the GDC Community
We are delighted to share that three colleagues affiliated with Argentine institutions have successfully defended their PhD theses in the last two years. Their achievements reflect the GDC’s commitment to fostering rigorous, decentered, and collaborative knowledge production across regions and disciplines.These newly minted doctors bring fresh perspectives to key areas such as transnational governance, migration, care, community organization, and environmental justice — all central themes within the GDC network.
Below, we share their work and celebrate their contributions:
Patricia Lepratti (Universidad Nacional de General Sarmiento) “Who Watches Over Seafarers? Ethnography of a Transnational Network in the South Atlantic”Supervised by Dr. Silvina Merenson (GDC member), Patricia’s thesis explores the demand for rights among sea workers of multiple national origins arriving in Buenos Aires and Montevideo. Through a multi-sited ethnography, she analyzes the practices of:Priests of the Apostolate of the SeaTrade union representatives (ITF, UTT, SUNTMA). State officials in Argentina and UruguayDiplomats from the Philippines and IndonesiaHer work advances debates on transnational governance, “really lived” citizenship, and labor in global production chains, proposing the idea of a transnational plot as a way to understand relational and situated forms of protection and rights-claiming. The thesis committee included Prof. Federico Besserer (GDC Member), Dra. Pilar Uriarte, and Dr. Osvaldo Battistini.
Belén López (Universidad Nacional de San Martín) “Community organization in environmental care: The link of rural migrant women with environmental problems in the Reconquista Area (Buenos Aires).” Supervised by Lucila Nejamkis (Director) and María Victoria Castilla (Co-Director), Belén’s thesis was enriched by continuous dialogue with the GDC network. Her participation in the Beyond Borders program of the ZEIT-Stiftung Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius — an opportunity she learned about through GDC colleagues — supported her final writing stage.Her research examines the experiences of migrant women from Bolivia, Paraguay, and rural Argentina living near one of Buenos Aires’ most polluted rivers. A key contribution is its methodological decentering: the thesis foregrounds women’s conocimientos populares (popular knowledge) and their agency in environmental response, challenging traditional expert-led approaches to climate and ecological issues.
Débora Gerbaudo Suárez (Universidad Nacional de San Martín) Thesis on Environment, Migration, and CareDébora’s dissertation offers an ethnographic analysis of how urban space interacts with age, gender, and social class to produce inequalities in the ways migrant-background youth inhabit Buenos Aires. Focusing on young people from Paraguayan families, her work bridges migration studies, youth studies, and urban anthropology, proposing nuanced ways to understand mobility, belonging, and everyday life in the city.
These three dissertations embody the spirit of the GDC: Collaborative, Transnational, Critical, Deeply engaged with the lived realities of marginalized communities.We warmly congratulate Belén López, Débora Gerbaudo Suárez, and Patricia Lepratti. Their work enriches our global conversation and strengthens our collective commitment to decentering knowledge production.
¡Felicitaciones!