This book provides a comprehensive overview of the rich and diverse
tradition of social thought in Chile over the last century. The authors
emphasize the close relationship between sociology and society, and
address large issues such as the institutionalization of sociology in
the face of an open modernization process following WWII, the key role
played by Chile in the regionalization and internationalization of
sociology and social sciences in Latin America from the late 1950s until
the 1973 Coup d'état, and the radicalization of sociology and the boom
of dependency theories during that time. The analysis extends to
independent academic centers that kept sociological thought, social
intervention and the democratic dream alive within an authoritarian
context, and the role of academic and professional sociology since the
return to democracy, which has been attentive to accompanying and
interpreting the development of a changing Chilean society.
Framed within the country's cultural, economic, historical, social and
political experience, this overview of the debates, dissemination,
networks, and educational programs associated with sociology, will be of
interest to students and scholars of Latin American studies and
historical sociology.