Institutionalization and professionalization of Argentinean Sociology: Reviewing the career of José Enrique Miguens

Abstract

The historiography of Argentine sociology has had Gino Germani as the main character, and the University of Buenos Aires as the privileged scene. However, the formation process of a relatively independent field of sociology also include actors, socializing spaces and institutions that remain away from the main historiographical accounts of this discipline. For that reason, the reconstruction of alternative paths will increase the knowledge about the process of institutionalization and professionalization of that discipline in Argentina. This question leads directly to review the career of Dr. José Enrique Miguens. After becoming a lawyer, he specialized in economic sociology with Parsons and Sorokin in Harvard University (USA), between 1944 and 1945. Then he taught sociology at the University of Buenos Aires during the Peron’s governments (1946-1955). After that, he found the second degree in sociology of Argentina, and at the same time he promoted private consulting for political parties and companies. Indeed, Miguens has shown himself to be a main character in Argentine sociology. However, it remains an unwritten chapter in the history of this discipline. The aim of this article is to make an overview of the different areas in Miguens career, such as academic, intellectual, professional and politic. This will allow understanding institutionalization and professionalization processes of Argentine sociology and its relationship with political, cultural and social spheres of the Argentine society, where individuals with its actions, decisions and performances play a key role.