Abstract

At quite different stages throughout its history, Chile has become emblematic for more global social processes and has attracted significant sociological interest. Notwithstanding its global trajectory, Chile still tends to be treated as a ‘case study’ from the ‘global south’, rather than being recognised for the globally emblematic character of its political and social history and the role that the social sciences have played within that. The current volume aims to foreground a global and contemporary understanding of Chilean sociology and its transformations since 1945, looking at four key periods in Chilean history and sociology: 1.) the implementation and rise of sociology in Chile after WWII and its significance before and during the Allende governance, 2.) the Pinochet dictatorship (1973-1990) and the forceful implementation of neoliberal mechanisms in all areas of life under the auspices of the Chicago Boys; with sociology being disqualified as Marxist ideology, 3.) the return to democracy in 1990 and the revival of the social sciences, yet under the continuation of neo-liberalism under the social-democratic Concertación government, and finally, 4.) the questioning of neo-liberalism as a discourse with the rise of the students’ movement from 2011 onwards. In accordance with authors who frame sociology as an intellectual endeavour and discipline that is shaped and transformed by the history of a country, its economic, political and social conditions (Gouldner, 1970; 1967; Lepenies, 1988, 1981), the particular remit of this book is to address the history and life-world of Chilean sociology in a multidimensional way. Narrating the story and transformation of Chilean sociology, we will look at how 1.) the historical, political and socioeconomic context of Chile as well as 2.) its geopolitical positioning in the global south and its postcolonial context (Bhambra, 2007; Connell, 2007; Domingues, 2009, Lander, 2000) have shaped 2.) the institutional formation and development of sociology over time 3.) as well as its epistemological development as a discipline in its interplay with other disciplines in the social sciences and humanities (Ariztía, 2012; Gárate, 2012; Lepenies, 1988). 4.) We will further address how all of these dimensions have played out in the biographies of sociologists over time, understanding sociology as a life-encompassing and dynamic enterprise that connects personal and political dimensions (Gouldner, 1970; Mills, 2000). Moreover, we will pay particular attention to narratives that seemed to have received less attention in Chilean sociology and were made invisible within what can be called the Chilean canon of sociology. Speaking with Patricia Hill Collins’ notion of ‘outsiders within sociology’ (Hill Collins, 1986), we would like to give voice to the narratives of sociologists whose professional and personal lives were tremendously disrupted and reconfigured by the dictatorship or who due to their disciplinary background, ethnic origin or gender have not received the institutional recognition and were not offered the opportunities that they had deserved. The integration of all these dimensions distinguishes our project from already existing research on the history of Chilean sociology (Fuenzalida, 1983; Godoy, 1974) which was predominantly written by two Chilean sociologists in the 1980s and 1990s - José Joaquín Brunner and Manuel Antonio Garretón (Brunner, 1986; 1988; Garretón, 1989; 1997; 2005; 2007). Brunner’s and Garretón’s work is informed by their particular birth-cohort, social class, generation and gender, having studied in the late 1960s and 1970s, as well as by their experience of the dictatorship. While the valuable heritage of these authors constitutes the unquestioned point of departure in our endeavour to research the history of Chilean sociology, our belonging to a different generation of academics will at the same time allow us to take a fresh and more global look on Chilean sociology. Furthermore, this book will be very different for its being written by an interdisciplinary team of two sociologists and one historian, born in the mid 1970s who all find themselves at the earlier stages of their academic careers. The international character of their academic formation as well as their nationalities further epitomizes the current state of globalised academia and thus allows for a more cosmopolitan perspective of Chilean sociology. This distinct and interdisciplinary perspective, though very sociological in its roots, shapes the writing of this book.