Call for Papers to the Special Issue "The 100th anniversary of Orlando Fals Borda’s birth: the legacy of a feeling-thinking sociology"

Edited by Feeling-Thinking Nucleus of Participatory Methodologies:

Claudio Duarte Quapper, Universidad de Chile

Matías G. Flores, Universidad de Chile

Sofía Monsalves, Universidad de Chile

Bran Montiel, Universidad de Chile

Deadline for submission: Decembre 14, 2025

Instructions for authors: https://revistadesociologia.uchile.cl/index.php/RDS/normasautores

 

This 2025 marks the centenary of the birth of Orlando Fals Borda (1925-2008), founder of the School of Sociology at Universidad Nacional de Colombia, and pioneer of Participatory Action Research (PAR) (Fals Borda, 2010b, 2010a, 2014, 2015). This anniversary has prompted a debate about the contributions made by the Colombian sociologist to the transformative and Southern knowledge production. In Chile, his work has inspired generations of social scientists and professionals from multiple disciplines to form research working groups, collectives, and networks, making it possible to rethink the limits of research methods and promote a transformative social theory. Acknowledging the importance of Orlando Fals Borda’s work, Revista de Sociología invites researchers and communities to submit empirical research articles or theoretical essays that contribute to the analysis of the scope and legacy of this influential author, thereby consolidating a corpus from which to build a sociology for social change. Three main themes are proposed:

 

1. Participatory Action Research to rethink sociology in Latin America in a context of crisis: What for? For whom?

Orlando Fals Borda developed Participatory Action Research to break with the mid-20th-century intellectual colonialism while creating a people’s science from Latin America that aims at social transformation (Fals Borda, 1970, 2012). He questioned the traditional science criteria of objectivity and neutrality to create knowledge in dialogue with communities and social movements, who take on leading roles in the research processes. This dialogue expands what we define as legitimate knowledge by recognizing other ways of knowing derived from experience, innovating in methods of knowledge production, and using everyday language that the public can understand.

In this theme, we seek contributions that discuss the epistemological, theoretical, and methodological aspects of PAR that allow us to rethink the work of the social sciences. We invite dialogue with other lines of critical theory, such as feminisms, decoloniality, popular education, and Southern epistemologies, among others, that propose a link between knowledge production and changing the living conditions of marginalized communities.

 

2. Expanding the boundaries of knowledge production and teaching: community-disciplinary intersections and pedagogical alternatives

To carry out what later became known as Participatory Action Research, Orlando Fals Borda had to leave the Universidad Nacional de Colombia and work directly with peasant movements in the Colombian Caribbean. This initial breaking point led to an underlying tension regarding the institutional limits to produce legitimate knowledge. Is the university the only appropriate space for developing this strategy? What type of university is necessary to incorporate these dialogues of ways of knowing? Upon his return to the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Fals Borda outlined the concept of a “participatory university” (Cendales et al., 2012, 43).

Today, this tension is expressed, on the one hand, in attempts to develop spaces for community engagement programs based on a two-way approach that has opened doors for multi-, inter-, and transdisciplinary dialogues with the fields of health, architecture, geography, agricultural and veterinary sciences, arts, and humanities. On the other hand, it is expressed through participatory action research experiences promoted outside universities by collectives, non-governmental organizations, local public services, schools, and popular education groups.

In this theme, contributions that extend beyond the social sciences are expected, from a transdisciplinary perspective, incorporating other institutions and actors as knowledge creators. Particularly relevant are case studies of universities or academic programs that have incorporated these strategies into their community engagement policies. Also relevant are analyses of the uses of participatory action research in grassroots organizations and social movements.

Critical analyses discussing the processes of adaptation, appropriation, subordination, or instrumentalization of Participatory Action Research that stray from the emancipatory dimension of Orlando Fals Borda’s proposal will also be accepted.

 

3. Boundary-crossing and collaborative networks for the promotion of participatory methodologies

Orlando Fals Borda, in addition to laying the foundations for disciplinary debate and broadening our understanding of knowledge production, dedicated his life to creating collaborative networks and events that brought together hundreds of people, paving the way for future generations. Noteworthy is the organization of the 1977 World Symposium on Participatory Action Research in Cartagena, from which various global networks emerged, as well as subsequent symposia held in the same city in 1997 and 2017. His generosity and work style served as a guide for those who carried on his work through networks that continue to this day.

In this area, we seek thought-provoking contributions on the creation, development, and scope of these national, regional, and global networks. We also welcome reflections on collaborative networking experiences, with a focus on participatory action research and participatory methodologies.

 

References

Cendales, L., Torres, F., & Torres, A. (2012). Uno siembra la semilla pero ella tiene su propia dinámica. Entrevista a Orlando Fals Borda. In N. A. Herrera Farfán & L. López Guzmán (Eds.), Ciencia, Compromiso y Cambio Social. Orlando Fals Borda. Antología (pp. 25–44). Editorial El Colectivo, Ediciones Lanzas y Letras y Extensión Libros.

Fals Borda, O. (1970). Ciencia propia y Colonialismo Intelectual. Editorial Nuestro Tiempo.

Fals Borda, O. (2010a). Antología de Orlando Fals Borda (J. Jaramillo, Ed.). Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo, Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores y de Cooperación.

Fals Borda, O. (2010b). Antología Orlando Fals Borda (1st ed). Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Unibiblos.

Fals Borda, O. (2012). El problema de cómo investigar la realidad para transformarla por la praxis. In N. A. Herrera Farfán & L. López Guzmán, Ciencia, compromiso y cambio social. Textos de Orlando Fals Borda (pp. 213–240). Editorial El Colectivo, Ediciones Lanzas y Letras y Extensión Libros.

Fals Borda, O. (2014). Ciencia, compromiso y cambio social: Antología (N. A. Herrera Farfán & L. López Guzmán, Eds.; 2a. ed). Lanzas y Letras.

Fals Borda, O. (2015). Una sociología sentipensante para América Latina (V. M. Moncayo Cruz, Ed.; Primera edición). Siglo Veintiuno Editores.