New classics for the new science – re-reading the basis of sociology in Ecuador until the 1950s

ABSTRACT

Professional sociology in Ecuador started with the first chair in sociology in 1915. This led to a series of foundational texts during the 1920s and 30s that sought to define what sociology is while applying it to core aspects of Ecuadorian society. While this time was – in the Global North- marked by a growing centralization on the theories of Durkheim and Weber, the Ecuadorian sociologists preferred other thinkers in order to understand society. The result was a mixture of different theories that were not always clearly articulated but did sustain the first relatively coherent sociological readings of Ecuadorian society. This text will shed light on how the first professional sociology in Ecuador used the classics of sociology in a particular way to build local sociology. The focus will be on the four most relevant sociological thinkers of the first half of the twentieth century, Agustín Cueva Sáenz, Ángel Modesto Paredes, Víctor Gabriel Garcés, and Luis Bossano. They worked with Tarde, Worms, Durkheim, and some German, US-American, and Latin American authors. The creation of the first School for Sociology in the 1960s meant a break from this tradition that has not been reflected adequately until today.

RESUMO

A sociologia profissional no Equador começou com a primeira cadeira em sociologia, em 1915. Isto levou a uma série de textos fundacionais durante os anos 1920 e 30 que procuraram definir o que é sociologia enquanto a aplicavam a aspectos centrais da sociedade equatoriana. Enquanto esta época foi – no Norte Global – marcada por uma crescente centralização nas teorias de Durkheim e Weber, os sociólogos equatorianos preferiram outros pensadores a fim de entender a sociedade. O resultado foi uma mistura de diferentes teorias que nem sempre foram claramente articuladas, mas sustentaram as primeiras leituras sociológicas relativamente coerentes da sociedade equatoriana. Este texto esclarecerá como a primeira sociologia profissional no Equador utilizou os clássicos da sociologia de uma forma particular para construir a sociologia local. O foco será nos quatro pensadores sociológicos mais relevantes da primeira metade do século XX, Agustín Cueva Sáenz, Ángel Modesto Paredes, Víctor Gabriel Garcés e Luis Bossano. Eles trabalharam com Tarde, Worms, Durkheim e alguns autores alemães, norte-americanos e latino-americanos. A criação da primeira Escola de Sociologia nos anos 60 significou uma ruptura com esta tradição que não foi refletida adequadamente até hoje.

RESUMEN

La sociología profesional en Ecuador se inició con la primera cátedra de sociología en 1915. Esto dio lugar a una serie de textos fundacionales durante las décadas de 1920 y 1930 que buscaban definir qué es la sociología y aplicarla a aspectos centrales de la sociedad ecuatoriana. Mientras esta época estuvo marcada – en el Norte Global – por una creciente centralización en las teorías de Durkheim y Weber, los sociólogos ecuatorianos prefirieron otros pensadores para entender la sociedad. El resultado fue una mezcla de diferentes teorías que no siempre fueron claramente articuladas pero que sustentaron las primeras lecturas sociológicas relativamente coherentes de la sociedad ecuatoriana. Este texto arrojará luz sobre cómo la primera sociología profesional en Ecuador utilizó los clásicos de la sociología de manera particular para construir la sociología local. Se centrará en los cuatro pensadores sociológicos más relevantes de la primera mitad del siglo XX, Agustín Cueva Sáenz, Ángel Modesto Paredes, Víctor Gabriel Garcés y Luis Bossano, quienes trabajaron con Tarde, Worms, Durkheim y algunos autores alemanes, estadounidenses y latinoamericanos. La creación de la primera Escuela de Sociología en los años 60 supuso una ruptura con esta tradición que no se ha reflejado adecuadamente hasta la actualidad.

KEYWORDS:

• Sociology
• canon
• classics
• Spencer
• Tarde

PALAVRAS-CHAVE:

• Sociologia
• cânone
• clássicos
• Spencer
• Tarde

PALABRAS CLAVE:

• Sociología
• canon
• clásicos
• Spencer
• Tarde

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Thanks to Stephen Turner for pointing this out to me.

2 With thanks to an Anne-Sophie Nussbaumer Schmutz of the Bibliothèque de Genève for finding this text and sending it to me.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Philipp Altmann

Philipp Altmann, has studies in sociology, cultural anthropology, and Spanish philology at the University of Trier and the Autonomous University of Madrid (2001–2007). He finished his doctorate in sociology at the Free University of Berlin in 2013 with a work on the decolonial aspects of the discourse of the indigenous movement in Ecuador. Since March 2015, he is Professor of Sociological Theory at the Universidad Central del Ecuador. He works on how ideas spread, on the intersection of discourse analysis, history of concepts, and sociology of knowledge. At the moment, he is studying the diffusion of the political concepts of the indigenous movement in Ecuador – Buen Vivir/Sumak Kawsay at the center – and the development of Ecuadorian sociology in relation to global sociology and other national/local traditions. His research interests are: indigenous and social movements, decoloniality, identity, social exclusion, systems theory, political sociology, sociology of science.