Clodomiro Almeyda and Roger Vekemans: The tension between autonomy and political commitment in the institutionalization of Chilean sociology,1957–1973

Abstract

This article reviews the tension between autonomy and politicization during the institutionalization of Chilean sociology (1957–1973), based upon the career trajectories of two of its main actors: Clodomiro Almeyda (University of Chile, UCH) and Roger Vekemans (Catholic University, CU) and the reassessment of accounts given by the first practitioners of Chilean sociology. Almeyda played a pivotal role as director of the UCH School of Sociology, while maintaining a strong political-militant commitment as leader of the Socialist Party. Meanwhile, Vekemans, the founder and first director of the CU School, was an exceptional example of intersecting theoretical contributions and public-political advocacy, being a bridge between the social sciences and the social doctrine of the Catholic Church. Both men’s career trajectories are a good reflection of the politicization prevalent in the discipline at the time of its institutionalization. However, their career trajectories simultaneously show an ambivalent effect of politics in the consolidation of the sociological field, for, although they assumed a certain degree of influence from exogenous factors on the nomos of sociology, they also facilitated a strong connection between society and sociology at the time.