Un análisis sociológico-histórico de la contribución de la universidad a la democratización social en EEUU

Abstract

This chapter provides a sociological-historical analysis of the main debates that have taken place on the system of higher education in the United States. A structural content analysis of paradigmatic texts that have set the course of the American university from the industrial revolution to the present day is carried out. The changes proposed by these documents in the organization, functioning and functions of universities and their links with the social contribution that they are expected to carry out (their mission) are analyzed. That is, the changes in the university system are related to the social transformations they are expected to contribute to. It investigates dialectically how universities are shaped by the social system and how universities contribute to society. The analysis follows a historical perspective in order to identify the criteria that allow explaining the processes of change and continuity. Specifically, we study the relations of power and how they affect the democratic dimension of the university system. It is understood here that this democratic dimension includes three variables of analysis: 1) University autonomy and academic freedom 2) The universality of education and 3) The orientation of the university towards social and political democratization objectives based on its mission.