Global Master of Arts in
Social Justice & Advocacy* (Full-Time)

As the largest urban space in southeast Europe, Belgrade is home to numerous social movements, local and international NGOs, dynamic civic activism, and advocacy work. In the aftermath of Yugoslavia and a decade of war politics during the 1990s, Serbia’s transitions into new economic systems and political regimes have generated struggles around issues of social and economic justice, violent pasts, rights to the city, and the decision to join the European Union (EU). Local actors have been engaged in street activism, as well as in policy and advocacy. Belgrade offers a view from the south, and from below, to everyday activism as it challenges and engages with top-down politics, in times of populism and struggles for democracy in the Balkans and around the globe. New movements such as “Ne Davimo Beograd” (We Won’t Let Belgrade Down/We Won’t Let Belgrade Drown) will be examined through the local, regional, and transnational networks of activism.

An excursion to Budapest, Hungary, will extend your understanding of the challenges of social justice and demands for social change in illiberal democracies in the context of today’s European Union and the post-communist states that have become EU member states.

Excursion highlights include:

• Budapest, Hungary
  • Local NGO and rights advocates
  • International organizations

Argentina’s reputation as a human rights pioneer springs from prominent protests that led to the historic prosecution of dictators in a court of law. This sparked a “human rights cascade” that set in motion protests and judicial processes throughout the Southern Cone.

Regional “truth commissions” arose from the Argentinean experience and have informed current movements including the landmark abortion rights law that took effect in January 2021, making Argentina the largest Latin American country to legalize abortion. At the sociopolitical center of the country, Buenos Aires remains a driving force behind changes in the region, as evidenced by mobilizations like the feminist collective “Ni una menos” campaign against gender-based violence, which has spread rapidly to the rest of the continent.

On an excursion to Patagonia, you will examine the challenges that the renewed extractivist model has set for collective rights, especially environmental and indigenous ones. You will also witness the evolution of “eco territorial” resistance characterized by diverse movements working in solidarity toward common goals, such as indigenous communities and feminists joining forces with environmental activists. Learn how these experiences are generating new trends and a new language of valuation, influencing public agendas, and generating new narratives about territory, nature, and environment.

Excursion highlights include:

• Patagonia, Argentina
  • Socio territorial movements and environmental NGOs
  • Ecofeminist activists
  • Visit peasant-indigenous communities and organizations
  • Resistance to mega-mining in Argentina: The case of “No a la Mina” and the assembly movement