This article was first presented at the XX Seminario Latinoamericanco de Escuelas de Trabajo Social, in the panel called Intellectuality and Politics: Challenges to Social Science and Social Work. The seminar was in Córdoba, Argentina, in 2012. Its aim is to think about the role intellectuals have in the contemporary times, their relationship with society, politics and the production of knowledge. Besides approaching the ways intellectuals place themselves in the public life and the importance of the battle of ideas in the dispute for power, the article emphasizes the knowledge produced by Social Work, the intellectuals´ political attachment, and it presents some challenges the professionals have to face in the contemporary reality.
Intellectuals; Politics; Social Work
