Browsing by Author "Cortés, Alexis"

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    Accusations of academic extractivism in Chile's historical poor neighborhoods: root causes and alternative practices
    (2025) Ruiz-tagle Venero, Javier Ignacio; Moraga Núñez, Francisca Valentina; Mujica, Trinidad; Toro Salinas, Amanda Beatriz; Orlando Romero, Laura Vivian; Luneke, Alejandra; Zenteno, Elizabeth; Pérez, Miguel; Angelcos, Nicolás; Cortés, Alexis
    Chile's historic poor neighborhoods are attracting increasing academic interest, while residents voice concerns about ‘academic extractivism.’ This criticism highlights researchers’ concentration on these well-studied areas without meaningful engagement with locals. Our paper examines this issue from three perspectives: residents’ experiences with institutions and researchers, and their aspirations for self-representation; pressures of ‘fast science’ that disrupt the relationships between scholars and lower-class communities; and the challenges faced by our research team when implementing a conventional research design in these territories. We conclude emphasizing the need for alternative urban research practices that prioritize collaboration, reciprocity, and the redistribution of power dynamics.
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    Critical Thought and Social Sciences in Ecuador: Autonomy and Politicization of the Intellectual Field
    (2023) Vidal-Barrios, Pablo; Cortés, Alexis; Morales, Juan Jesús; Villalobos Dintrans, Cristóbal Alejandro; Martínez-Sierra, Jordan
    This paper shows how Ecuadorian critical production can be considered a virtuous case of interaction between autonomy and politicization of the intellectual field. Proposing a reflection based on the Antología del pensamiento crítico ecuatoriano contemporáneo (Anthology of contemporary Ecuadorian critical thought), edited by Gioconda Herrera (2018) and published by the Latin American Council of Social Sciences in the context of its fiftieth anniversary, this paper shows the marked link between critical thought in Ecuador and the institutional development of the social sciences. Important levels of academic professionalization are exhibited without implying a diminishing or limitation of the field’s transformative and contesting role. At the same time, analysis shows that, despite the pluralization of thought—with a corresponding diversification of the social actors of change and themes addressed—Ecuadorian critical thought has remained anchored to debates of concrete reality over time. Thus, contrary to what might be expected, politicization does not hinder the development of the social sciences, nor does professionalization depoliticize it.