Extensión Crítica: The radical engagement agenda of Latin American universities
Paul Younger (Newcastle University), Humberto Tommasino (Universidad de la República, Uruguay)
Abstract
Latin America has one of the longest-established and most impressive traditions of university / society engagement in the world. Building on traditions of democracy and openness established by the Córdoba Movement in Argentina in 1918, which led to the creation of what became a wave of autonomous universities in most countries of the continent, and spurred on by the profound insights and practices promoted by Paolo Freire and other leading thinkers in the field of pedagogy, a strong current of radical engagement activity is now widely established throughout the continent. This current sees engagement activities by universities as having a key role to play in social transformation, by means of sustained partnership working according to a model of ‘participatory social accompaniment’. A hallmark of the seriousness of the commitment with which many of these engagement programmes has been launched is the history of oppression suffered by many of its protagonists during periods of autocratic rule. In the present era, many of these engagement activities are at the forefront of the promotion of grassroots socio-economic development in many marginalised rural regions and urban areas of Latin America. In addition to drawing on the traditional tools of the academic trade, this radical current of ‘critical engagement’ (extensión crítica) has also given rise to new forms of activity including:
• Cátedras Libres (‘Open Chairs’), which are permanent forums of academics and civil society for dialogue and enquiry on topics of socio-economic importance, organised by consortia of academics; unlike traditional Chairs, a Cátedra Libre will have no single occupant.
• Structured engagement projects with marginalised communities involving teams of lecturers and students, for which the latter receive academic credit.
• Specialist engagement projects with dedicated staff (academic or otherwise), organised directly by the office of the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Engagement, amongst which are the so-called “Universidades Populares” or “Centros de Formación Popular”.
It is argued that, notwithstanding the rather different socio-economic context, European academia has much to learn from the theory, spirit and practice of critical engagement in Latin America.
