El pensamiento de Ignacio Ellacuría acerca de la función social de la universidad

Abstract

In the convulsive historical context of El Salvador (Central America) during the 1970s and 1980s, characterized by popular uprisings against the postcolonial socioeconomic system, the ten year Salvadorean civil war and the mass murder of civilians, Ignacio Ellacuría rethinks the University’s social function based on his experience as Head of the Department of Philosophy and, then, as Rector of the Central American University (UCA) in El Salvador. His conception of the university, and in particular of universities of Christian inspiration, is that of an institution devoted to an in-depth analysis of historical reality ―in terms of the human habitat as well as the social, economic and political reality― and the transformation of this reality towards a future society respectful of the dignity of every human being. In this sense, the university, understood in the broadest sense ―teaching, research and social mobility―, represents the theoretical moment of historical liberation movements. However, to fulfill this goal the university contribution should not only be academic but should, also, be firmly rooted in reality, and not external to the political framework or merely a place for subversive unrest.