El compromiso profético de los antropólogos sociales argentinos, 1960-1976

according to norbert elias, to qualify research according to its degree of commitment to, or detachment from its objects, is a practical value that intellectuals use in pursuing their job. current references to commitment (compromiso) by latin american anthropologists, talk about those colleagues' perspectives on anthropology, and also about the ways in which such a notion has modeled them as anthropologists. here i examine how and why argentine anthropologists have made of "social anthropology" and "commitment" the backbone of their discipline in argentina, both in university politics and in academic work in the 60-70s. i also suggest that anthropological debates on prophets and prophetism may cast some light upon this process.