Beyond morals: controversy, struggle, rifts. The subfield of literary studies and the Argentinian university (1958-2015)

Abstract

This article originates from the project International Cooperation in the Social-Sciences and Humanities: Comparative Socio-Historical Perspectives and Future Possibilities directed by Gisèle Sapiro. Such project aimed at delineating a “comparative morphology” which accounted for the institutional organization and internationalization of Humanities and Social Sciences in seven disciplines (Sociology, Psychology, Philosophy, Economics, Literature, Anthropology, and Political Science) and in nine countries (Argentina, Brazil, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Austria, the Netherlands, Hungary and the United States). Within that project I analyzed the processes of institutionalization and internationalization of literary studies in Argentina between 1958 and 2015. What follows is based on a synthesis of that study. This article examines the place the university has had in a subfield affected by fluctuation between dictatorships and restorations of democracy, economic crises and different public policies regarding the funding of education, science and technology. The first section briefly pinpoints the methodological decisions made in this study, followed by a brief reconstruction of the results. This paper concludes with reflections on the university and the dynamics of the subfield of Literary Studies in Argentina.