Social Science Centers in Quito

Extract

During a research trip to Ecuador in the summer of 1978, the editor had occasion to visit several centers for training and investigation in the social sciences. The evidence of marked progress over earlier years is unmistakeable, and has been stimulated by both national and international bases of support as well as the influx of intellectuals exiled from other Latin American countries. In a previous issue (volume 13, number 2 [1978]), LARR presented a report from former director Rafael Quintero on the activities and pedagogical orientation of the Escuela de Sociología at the Universidad Central del Ecuador. He also noted the important appearance of the Revista de Ciencias Sociales, four numbers of which had been published by mid-1978, as well as the initiation of national conferences on sociology: the first of these was convened in Quito in November 1976 and the second met at Cuenca in April 1978. While research activities are being undertaken in both Guayaquil and Cuenca, much of the effort nationally is centered in Quito. In keeping with LARR'S effort to improve and extend communication in this area, the following reports on four centers are presented. In conjunction with the earlier contribution by Dr. Quintero, they provide a useful, if less than fully exhaustive, perspective on social science activities in Quito.