MiMed seminar / Axis 2: «Making your way: the educational and social mobility pathways of young Bolivian women in the province of Buenos Aires (Argentina)».»

Tuesday 16 December 2025 | 2 - 4 pm | Videoconference

Le MiMed seminar (Places and territories of migration in the Mediterranean and beyond) is coordinated by 7 AMU research laboratories (Centre Norbert Elias, TELEMMe, MESOPOLHIS, IDEAS, IREMAM, LPED - IRD and ADEF - UR INSPE).

Interventions by Sofia Laiz Moreira (Aix Marseille University - MESOPOLHIS) and Gabriela Novaro (Universidad de Buenos Aires).

This research examines the educational and occupational trajectories of young girls from Bolivian families living in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Based on a qualitative method combining ethnographic observations and life stories, it draws on more than ten years of fieldwork as well as recent interviews with young people from the 1.5 and 1.75 generations.

The results reveal a strong emphasis on work and study among these young women, who oscillate between maintaining their link with Bolivia and aspiring to social mobility, although the two are not contradictory. Although girls appear to do better at school, gender inequalities and certain forms of discrimination persist. The study highlights the identity-related tensions experienced by these young people, torn between a strong cultural heritage and a desire for transformation. Although their aspirations for social mobility are also expressed by their parents, it is a question of reconciling these two dimensions rather than choosing between them. These young people face the challenge of being both guardians of a family tradition and agents of change.

Videoconference: link available in the «Online event details» section below.

This information can be found on the MiMed seminar website: https://mimed.hypotheses.org/4653