Latin American Sociology at ISA World Congresses: The Mediating Role of Elizabeth Jelin

The World Congresses of the International Sociological Association (ISA) have been a fundamental space for the institutionalisation and legitimisation of sociology and its sub-disciplines, themes and publication spaces, as well as for structuring international networks and exchanges. In the context of structural global asymmetries, the difficulties of including perspectives from the so-called “Third World” and later “Global South” were a recurrent challenge of the meetings. My contribution concentrates on analysing the key role of the Argentine sociologist Elizabeth Jelin as member of Organising Committees and as co-creator of new Research Committees (RC) in the framework of the ISA World Congresses between 1983 and 1990. By exploring Elizabeth Jelin’s legacy at the Biblioteca Nacional in Buenos Aires, I will reconstruct the sociologist's efforts to incorporate new themes and perspectives and to include Latin American colleagues (especially women) in the invitations, as well as her key role for the establishment of broad South-North networks that contributed to a greater visibility of Latin American sociology in the ISA World Congresses.