Presentation of the Dossier “Studies of Ideas in Latin America: balance and prospects”

Abstract

This dossier brings together essays originally prepared for the Panel "Studies of Ideas in Latin America: Assessment and Perspectives for the Future", which I coordinated together with Manuel Loyola (Universidad Finis Terrae, Chile) as part of the 5th International Forum "Russia and Iberoamerica in the Globalizing World: History and Modernity", held in Saint Petersburg (Russia) from October 4 to 6, 2021. We participated (unfortunately) virtually. However, we were at least able to bring together important figures in the field, establish a stimulating space for debate, and now publish part of the works in this dossier.

The call invited an assessment of studies of ideas in Latin America. But, more than that and more precisely, it provoked a mapping of alternative approaches that are beginning to emerge in the field (and coincide with the perspectives of the panel participants). It also requested projections of possible futures for studies of ideas. Here we arrive at the heart of the problem: in order to project the future of ideas, it is necessary above all to project any future.