Call for Papers for the Research and Debates Section of Issue 25 of Revista Vínculos. Sociología, análisis y opinión. Public University in dispute.

Call for Papers for the Research and Debates Section of Issue 25 of Vínculos Journal. Sociology, Analysis, and Opinion. The public university in dispute. The university is not in crisis. So far, it has maintained the function of reproducing the culture linked to power. Indeed, the university in the West is a corporation that originated in medieval and modern elites, and in contemporary history, this function has not changed. However, in Latin America, the idea of a university from which a different future could be outlined emerged in 1918 in Córdoba, Argentina. A different university culture was envisioned there. Discursively, it appealed to the culture of knowledge expressed in words, reasons, arguments, and actions for autonomy and social freedom. However, both the 1918 reform and the changes forced upon this institution as a result of the student rebellion of 1968 made evident the structural limit of the modern university. As a corporation embedded within the capitalist system, the university has been unable to separate itself from it. The spirit of autonomy of the so-called public universities was born within the framework of the Córdoba reform and the student movement of 1968. The fading of that spirit since the 1990s has caught the attention of those who believed that the public university had a critical social function. Therefore, they believe that it is transforming into a business, meaning that it is being incorporated into the business and commercial circuits of today's capitalist society. Hence, the commodification of the public university is not an external phenomenon to it; rather, it is perceived as moving towards it, in institutions where the status of university autonomy has strong symbolism in academic and research activities. However, in reality, public universities are quasi-corporate organizations that promote, in the various professions and disciplines they offer, a language and practices akin to international organizations (World Bank, IMF, UN, OECD, UNESCO, FAO), hegemonic governments, and large business complexes. For all the above, it becomes necessary to call for the submission of articles in the Research and Debate Section to reflect on the current state of the public university and the necessary link between it and society. The proposed articles could address the following questions: What is the general state of universities? What are their current challenges in the labor, academic and curricular, scientific and political, student, gender, ecological, and probable future spheres? In public universities, can the spirit of university autonomy outlined in 1918 and 1968 be renewed? Is it currently possible to democratize the public university and engage in tasks characteristic of social critique? Are there currently links between the university and the different social subjects of this society? Are they necessary? How to establish them? What can we expect from these links? What would be the characteristics, limits, and scope of a public university that does not limit itself to the business interests of the capitalist market? Would it be a popular university, an open university? How could free and autonomous spaces be generalized within the university that escape the bureaucratic, hierarchical, and authoritarian dynamics generated by the functionalist and school-like education of the university? Is the university counterproductive? Are we facing the end of public universities? Article Submission Process The texts should be submitted for evaluation through the OJS platform after prior registration: [Link to the registration platform] The proposals received will be rigorously evaluated under a double-blind review system. Contributions approved by the external peer review will be published in the September 2024 issue. Contributions must adhere to the editorial guidelines of Vínculos Journal, which can be consulted at the following link: [Link to editorial guidelines] Agenda May 9, 2024: Article submission for evaluation. June 28, 2024: Return of reviewed articles. August 9, 2024: Submission of the article in its publishable version.