Ceara's Federal University Social Sciences Course (1968:1972): Social Struggle, Citical Thought and Academic Recognition

Abstract

The article aims to reflect on my experience as a student of the first class of the Federal University of Ceará's Course of Social Sciences (1968-1972), that today is fifty years old. I would like to highlight some general and specific traits that marked our generation, characterized by social struggles and the promotion of critical thinking, the commitment to institutional recognition and the attempt to understand the specificities of Brazilian society. From this perspective, despite the inevitable risks of idealizing the past, I call attention to the following: the idea of a university conceived as a place of friendship, the weight of the reflection of the classic founders of the Social Sciences (Marx, Weber and Durkheim), even when such thinkers were not part of the curricular structure. It was a university education that was not restricted to the classroom and to the field research. It disputed space with readings in groups of informal studies and extracurricular activities, participated in demonstrations against the military dictatorship and in support of higher education and was present in cultural activities. I also draw attention to the encouragement of reading and field research, enabling us to new inquiries, the search for "new beaches and new enclosures", with the objective of studying the master's degree or a specialization and give continuity to our training. In short, an inseparable formation of living in society in the midst of an environment in which attending or teaching Social Sciences was considered a dangerous and subversive act.