Knowledge for liberation: university reforms, knowledge, and revolution in South America (Argentina, Chile, Peru - 1966-1975)

• Grant number: 24/14886-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: February 01, 2025
• End date: January 31, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - History - History of America
• Principal Investigator: Gabriela Pellegrino Soares
• Grantee: Thiago Henrique Oliveira Prates
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

In this project, I propose an analysis of university reforms and debates on knowledge and power carried out by the South American left in the 1960s and 1970s, focusing on the experiences of Argentina, Chile, and Peru. Between 1966 and 1975, several progressive intellectuals discussed the character of national and Latin American universities, as well as the nature of the knowledge produced in them, and such discussion was soon incorporated into the scientific-educational policies of the progressive governments that took power in the three countries. I seek to understand how the left conceived the creation of educational institutions and specific types of knowledge to contribute to their projects of radically transforming society. Through a comparative intellectual history, I propose the study of the ideas, practices, ideologies, and forms of sociability that underpinned the debates on such reforms and how they were implemented. To do so, I will consult books and articles published in the press by intellectuals involved in the process, as well as institutional documents from universities and legal provisions from the three governments.