Social sciences and society in Chile: institutionalization, breakdown and rebirth

Abstract

Social sciences emerged in Chile during the mid-1950s in a context of social transformations that marked their foundation and consolidation as scientific disciplines. This article deals with the general background of the installation of these disciplines, particularly sociology, their later consolidation and the subsequent process of dismantling and re-composition, from the point of view of their institutionalization and internationalization. Like all research, this is a partial perspective, nurtured with the views of the generation that followed the foundational phase, which has its conceptual bases in what we have called the “social sciences development model” or project, and the contributions of a series of other authors. In the Chilean case, several authors agree on the identification of three periods in the development of social sciences, viewed as institutional milestones, even though we consider sub-periods within each one. A first period of creation, institutionalization and professionalization goes from the mid-1950s until 1973. A second period coincides with the military dictatorship (1973-89), during which the majority of social sciences had to abandon their home in universities. Such a loss was compensated by the creation of a variety of independent academic centers, which permitted a development of these disciplines associated with a growing process of thematic specialization. The third phase corresponds to the return of a democratic regime (1990-2003), a period in which social sciences again situated themselves preferably in universities, occasioning a new expansion of professional training programs and institutions. The article traces these phases in view of going beyond a history of the disciplines to develop an analytical perspective that accounts for the characteristics of the context, the institutional dimensions, the thematic contents and their role in society.