University and pandemic in Latin America: reflections on the diversity and complexity of a developing phenomenon

Abstract

This work refers to the transition in Latin American universities, in a period of changes that have not been defined or consolidated, and that now has been aggravated by the spread of the COVID-19 virus pandemic and its various variants. The reflections are from a group of higher education scholars from selected countries in Latin America who, as can be seen, are very similar to each other, despite their differences. Fundamental dimensions of the substantive functions of universities are addressed, in a period that is now presented as a new trend of reflection and debate in the context of a generalized crisis, not only in the health field, but also in education, social, economic and global. The purpose of this work is to offer readers the expression of a context that moves in the midst of a great uncertainty. It is not yet possible to make a theory about a phenomenon that is still in progress. It is important to track this phenomenon given its high complexity. As it can be understood, saying something definitive about what is happening and postulating a deterministic thesis would be very risky. We live in a time where knowledge, ideas, feelings, our perception of what we live changes almost every day, or by intermittent waves that dissipate at other times.