Abstract

ARCILA ARISTIZABAL, Zoraida. The formation of the social researcher in the Universidad Nacional de Colombia (1959-1968). Rev. colomb. soc. [online]. 2019, vol.42, n.2, pp.23-45. ISSN 0120-159X.  https://doi.org/10.15446/rcs.v42n2.76490.

The founding project of the Department and the School of Sociology of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá campus, in the mid-20th century, involved the design of curricula and courses in social theory and methodology, as well as the launching of diverse research projects that disseminated new perspectives for the analysis and reflection on the political, economic, and social reality of the country. The social actors who played an important role in this academic project-including figures such as Orlando Fals Borda, Camilo Torres Restrepo, Virginia Gutiérrez de Pineda, Eduardo Umaña Luna, and Carlos Escalante Angulo- carried out a series of actions aimed at unifying practices representing principles of vision and affinity with the social and human sciences. Thus, it was possible to configure a common language and a concrete form for the work of social scientists committed to the social issues of their period.

The article starts with the description of the teaching project -course syllabi, reference bibliographies, class guides-, that is, of the curriculum, on the basis of which it was possible to establish the profile of sociology as taught on this campus. Emphasis was placed on lines such as rural sociology, urban sociology, and sociology of the family, which, in turn, became the main lines of discussion of the leading intellectual group of that founding project. Secondly, the article provides a detailed account of the research project, which makes it possible to observe the work agenda and the thematic interests that arose as the most relevant fields in social research, in accordance with sociopolitical needs and the requirements of public and private financing entities. The paper concludes that the multiplicity of approaches and interpretive frameworks disseminated by the faculty fostered the diversification of theoretical lines that were consolidated throughout the development of sociology in Colombia.

Descriptors: Colombian sociology, curriculum, research, professional guidance.

Keywords : curriculum; publications; social research; theoretical and methodological guidelines; Universidad Nacional de Colombia.

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