Latin-Americanism without Latin America:'Theory'as Surrogate Periphery in the Metropolitan University (original) (raw)

Latin American Universities: From an Original Revolution to an Uncertain Transition

Higher Education, 2005

The aim of this paper is to discuss the prospects of Latin American public universities. Its main assertion is that universities could become important actors of development in Latin America, but prevailing trends point in another direction. The paper focuses on the interactions between, on the one hand, specific traditions and social contexts, and, on the other hand, global trends concerning the role of knowledge and academic changes. The specific traits of the evolution of Higher Education in Latin America are discussed, in order to describe the emergence of an original 'idea of University'. Changes and continuities during the last decades of the 20th century are summarized. Similarities and differences between developed countries and Latin America concerning current trends in Higher Education are analyzed. Particular attention is given to the interactions between what is happening in Latin American universities and the new insertion of the continent in the global economy. A prospective analysis is attempted, focusing on the social commitment of universities.

Politics and Academia in Latin American Universities (review essay)

Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs, 1983

Albornoz, Orlando. IDEOLOGiA Y POLÍTICA EN LA UNIVERSIDAD LATINOAMERICANA. Caracas, Venezuela: Instituto Societas, 1972. Boeninger Kausel, Edgardo et al. DESARROLLO CIENTÍFICO -TECNOLOGICO Y UNIVERSIDAD. Santiago, Chile: Corporaci;n de Promoción Universitaria, 1973. Cunha, Luis Antonio. A UNIVERSIDADE TEMPORÃ. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Editora Civilização Brasileira S.A., 1980. Dooner, Patricia and Ivan Lavados [editoresJ LA UNIVERSIDAD LATINOAMERICANA: VISION DE UNA DECADA. Santiago, Chile: Corporacion de Promocion Universitaria, 1979. Levy, Daniel. UNIVERSITY AND GOVERNMENT IN MEXICO: AUTONOMY IN AN AUTHORITARIAN STATE. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1980. Scherz Garcia, Luis. LA UNIVERSIDAD LATINOAMERICANA EN LA DECADA DEL 80. PROYECCIONES DEL DESARROLLO EN AMERICA LATIINA Y SU INCIDENCIA EN LA EDUCACION SUPERIOR. Santiago, Chile: Corporacion de Promoción Universitaria,, 1975.

Universities in Latin America. Power and resistance to alienation of social intellect

This article addresses, from the perspective of Latin American critical thought, the processes of change in the Higher Education in the context of social change, characterized by the social exclusion phenomena and the intervention neoliberal in recent decades. The investigation covers the analysis of the forms of production and distribution of knowledge in the university in this context as well as work processes which model university practices. Besides, we propose an alternative methodology in terms epistemological, ethical and pedagogical, problematizing current challenges and the concentration of knowledge production, presenting a possible alternative for the meaning of the practice and the social role of the university.

Between the Global and the Local: The Study of the Academic Profession from a Latin American Perspective

2020

The academic profession represents a subject within the realm of higher education that has experienced an outstanding development throughout the world. In Latin America, the interest in studying this field arises in a context of widespread reforms of the higher education system during the 1990s. The presence of research groups from this region, working within a global framework and in close collaboration with research centres from developed countries, can attest to this interest. This work attempts to establish a balance after three decades of unrelenting study of the academic profession to discover local specificities within global trends. It can be asserted that the tension between the global and the local is manifest both in the conceptualization of the subject matter and in the way this fledgling field has been developing in the region. There is a pending challenge, however, in ultimately establishing the case for the Latin American academic profession within the study of this a...

The Presence of Philosophy in Latin American Universities

This paper describes the key role of Universities in the cultivation of philosophy in Latin America. After a brief revision of the origin of the University in Latin America and its relation to philosophy, the author describes a very small part of the philosophical activity by pointing out some fields where philosophy has been particularly intensive in terms of research and original thought. In his quick overview he indicates what he takes to be the strengths and weaknesses of philosophy nowadays in Latin America by highlighting the status of the current situation in terms of the support which philosophers have for developing their activities.

Latin American Cultural Studies as an Endogenous Form of Knowledge

It has become common to state that Latin American cultural studies -entered the academic scene‖ in the 1980s, elaborating a critique of the symbolic production and everyday living experiences of social reality in the continent. I would argue this is not entirely a new phenomenon in Latin America. On the contrary, the ideologues of Latin American independence, heavily influenced by French Enlightenment thinking, worked along these lines by default. In their attempt to elaborate a new epistemology from the perspective of the new countries then being configured, they seldom made distinctions between -philosophy,‖ -literature,‖ -political tracts,‖ and other forms of written knowledge; nonetheless, given the heritage of -the lettered city,‖ they exercised quasi total intellectual hegemony, and enjoyed enormous political respect, benefiting from the explicatory power of what Avelar calls -the traditional aura of the letrado‖ (12). The phrase -lettered city‖ was originally conceived by Uruguay critic Angel Rama, of whom more is said later. Letrados were not competing with ideologues because they were the ideologues themselves, the producers of symbolic capital. Their autonomy enabled them to feel equally at home in all kinds of genres, and they covered the terrain presently circumscribed by traditional disciplines.

INTERDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVES ON LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES

The history of Latin American studies is, without doubt, multi- and interdisciplinary but less transdisciplinary. There are nevertheless a host of interesting possibilities and opportunities to develop area and cultural studies toward a more radical transdisciplinary approach. This article, addresses several ways of systematising some aspects of Latin American studies as a distinct academic field or as a ‘discipline’. These include a request for a democratic learning culture, the use of critical realism in an interdisciplinary way, the combination of internal–external analysis, and the rethinking of quantitative and qualitative analysis and data.

Latinx Communities and Academic Trajectories

Uprooting Bias in the Academy

This chapter will focus on why the Latina experience is critical to understanding current efforts to diversify the academy in the United States. We discuss the demographic realities of Latinx representation in higher education, the various ways in which Latinx scholars are marginalized, and what’s currently known about “best practices” when seeking excellence and inclusion through institutional diversity. We stress the importance of intersectionality in understanding and addressing the underrepresentation of Latina scholars in STEM.