Teaching generations and legacy: building an academic excellence program

Abstract

This study aims to understand the factors associated with the institutional success of the Graduate Program in Sociology at the University of Rio Grande do Sul, engaging in debates on the development of the discipline in Brazil, based on Pierre Bourdieu's sociological perspective on the scientific field. To this end, interviews were conducted to gather accounts concerning the student and academic trajectories of the institution's professors. The results highlight the importance of UFRGS's institutional culture, the accumulation of institutionalized and informational scientific capital; the standardization of the teaching staff; the institutionalization of norms and collective management; the ability to produce successors and select external players for the program; and the group's collective spirit. The study identifies the existence of the following generations of professors: builders, architects, heirs (both direct and indirect), and migrants.

Keywords:
scientific field; graduate program; Sociology, faculty members