Human Rights Track

The Middlebury School in Chile offers a Human Rights track at the Universidad Alberto Hurtado in Santiago, where students will have the opportunity to gain both academic and work experience in a context in which human rights have played a central role in recent history. The track is a unique opportunity for students to get a deep, holistic understanding of this topic.

Issues related to human rights and memory have played a central role in Chilean history, as well as in the history of many other Latin American countries. Like most of its neighbors, Chile experienced a violent military dictatorship between 1973 and 1989 under the rule of Augusto Pinochet who introduced severe and dramatic changes into Chilean society. The particular trajectory followed by Chile from the late 1960s until the election of Salvador Allende and after the end of Pinochet’s dictatorship make this country a paradigmatic example in the region with respect to this historical experience.

The Human Rights track is characterized by its multi-focal approach through three main components: direct-enroll courses at the host university, a guided research project, and an internship*. Several track-specific excursions related to Chile’s recent past will round out the student experience.

This track is a specialized option for Human Rights studies. Students not interested in enrolling in a track may opt to participate in our standard, direct-enrollment program.

University Courses

Students will have the opportunity to take two courses alongside Chilean students at the Universidad Alberto Hurtado. Courses related to the track include Social and Political History of Chile, Mourning and Memory, and Human Rights, Citizenship, and Democracy. Students will also take the Middlebury course, Writing for Linguistic and Cultural Competence .

Research Projects

Students carry out a research project on a specific topic related to human rights with the support of a supervising professor who specializes in that field of study. Some sample topics include the Pinochet dictatorship, the transition to democracy, tensions during the post-dictatorship period, and the human rights challenges Chile faces today.

Internships*

Students will work in institutions in Santiago where they will involve themselves in issues related to human rights from a political, social, and artistic perspective.

* Students interested in interning must verify that their home institutions will accept academic credit for an internship. General internship application procedures and deadlines will apply.