Facultad de Ciencias Sociales (Universidad de Buenos Aires)

Facultad de Ciencias Sociales (Universidad de Buenos Aires)
Name	Facultad de Ciencias Sociales (Universidad de Buenos Aires)
Native name	Facultad de Ciencias Sociales
Established	1988
Type	Public
City	Buenos Aires
Country	Argentina

Facultad de Ciencias Sociales (Universidad de Buenos Aires) is a faculty of the University of Buenos Aires founded in 1988 to consolidate social science teaching and research previously dispersed across the university. It brings together programs in sociology, political science, communication, social work, anthropology and geography, serving as a major center for social inquiry in Argentina, Latin America and the Spanish-speaking world. The faculty has been linked to broader debates involving figures and institutions such as Juan Perón, Néstor Kirchner, Raúl Alfonsín, Pope Francis, and research networks connected to Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, CLACSO, and the Inter-American Development Bank.

History

The faculty was created by the University Reform of 1918 legacy and later institutionalized under the democratic expansion of the University of Buenos Aires after the return to democracy in 1983 during the presidency of Raúl Alfonsín. Its origins trace to departments and chairs located in the faculties of Philosophy and Letters, Economic Sciences, and Law that taught disciplines now housed in the faculty; early leaders included scholars who had ties to movements like Montoneros and intellectual circles around Julio Cortázar and Ricardo Piglia. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s the faculty engaged with policy debates involving Carlos Menem, Fernando de la Rúa, Néstor Kirchner, and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, while faculty researchers collaborated with international entities such as the World Bank, United Nations Development Programme, and International Labour Organization on projects addressing urbanization, media regulation, and social policy. The building projects and curricular reforms across administrations intersected with cases and controversies connected to institutions like Tribunal Superior de Justicia de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires and events such as the Argentine economic crisis.

Organization and Academic Structure

The faculty is organized into departments and institutes that mirror disciplinary traditions: Departments of Sociology, Anthropology, Political Science, Communication Sciences, Social Work, and Geography. Administrative governance follows electoral procedures established by the University of Buenos Aires statutes and the Argentine University Federation traditions, with representation from student groups such as the Frente de Estudiantes Universitarios and political formations including La Cámpora, Franja Morada, Movimiento Estudiantil, and Izquierda Socialista. Research units include centers affiliated with external bodies like CONICET and international collaborations with universities such as Harvard University, University of Buenos Aires Faculty of Law, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, and El Colegio de México. The faculty's governance also interacts with municipal authorities like the Government of the City of Buenos Aires for urban planning of facilities and with national ministries such as the Ministry of Education (Argentina) for degree accreditation.

Degree Programs and Research

Degree offerings include undergraduate licenciaturas and professional degrees in Sociology, Political Science, Communication, Social Work, Anthropology, and Geography, as well as postgraduate master's and doctoral programs with supervisory ties to CONICET and international scholarship agencies such as the Fulbright Program and Erasmus Mundus. Research themes cover urban studies with links to projects in Buenos Aires Province, comparative politics referencing case studies like Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay, media studies engaging with debates about Clarín Group and Telefe, and social policy analysis connected to reforms under administrations like Néstor Kirchner and Mauricio Macri. The faculty publishes journals and working papers that engage in scholarly exchange with publications from Harvard University Press, Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, and regional outlets associated with CLACSO and the Latin American Council of Social Sciences.

Campus and Facilities

Main facilities are located in the Abasto and Constitución areas of Buenos Aires, with classrooms, seminar rooms, computer laboratories, and libraries housing collections related to figures like Juan Bautista Alberdi, Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, and contemporary scholars such as Néstor García Canclini and Maristella Svampa. The faculty maintains audiovisual labs for projects on media convergences involving entities like Radio Nacional and television archives such as Canal 7. Facilities are shared with other UBA units and coordinated with city infrastructure projects administered by the Ministry of Public Works (Argentina) and cultural programming with institutions like the Centro Cultural Kirchner and Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes.

Student Life and Culture

Student life features political activism historically tied to events such as the Cordobazo legacy, student mobilizations during the Argentine economic crisis, and participation in national debates over university funding involving the Ministry of Economy (Argentina). Student organizations run publications, radio programs, and cultural festivals in collaboration with groups like Juventud Peronista and networks like Franja Morada. Extracurricular activities include fieldwork coordinated with NGOs such as CasaFeliz, community centers in La Boca, research internships with municipal programs under the Government of the City of Buenos Aires, and international exchange programs with institutions like Sorbonne University, University of Oxford, and University of California, Berkeley.

Notable Faculty and Alumni

Notable faculty and alumni include scholars and public figures who have influenced Argentine public life and scholarship: academics such as Horacio González, Beatriz Sarlo, Atilio Borón, Juan Carlos Portantiero, and Maristella Svampa; politicians and policymakers like Alberto Fernández, Axel Kicillof, Victoria Donda, Estela de Carlotto (as collaborator in memory projects), and Daniel Filmus; journalists and cultural figures such as Jorge Lanata, Marta Dillon, Norma Aleandro, and Rodolfo Walsh; and international intellectuals who have held visiting positions or engaged in collaborations, including Boaventura de Sousa Santos, Saskia Sassen, Immanuel Wallerstein, and Pierre Bourdieu. Their work spans institutions and arenas such as the Argentine National Congress, Ministry of Health (Argentina), Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos, and global forums like the United Nations.

Category:University of Buenos Aires Category:Educational institutions established in 1988