Comparing Knowledge Circulation: Euro-American Social Theories in Latin America

Abstract

In Chapter 4 I compare my study of the reception of Luhmann with others, which have dealt with Euro-American theorists such as Weber, Freud, Marx, Dewey, Bourdieu, Lacan, Klein, Foucault, Sartori, and the Frankfurt School. I try to find similarities and differences between my investigation and these other analyses and recognize shared concerns regarding the creative and original nature of any reception process, the multilayered structure of the theories analyzed, and the importance of political factors. Differences that have allowed me to suggest three variables according to which reception studies could be classified: (a) the time span, (b) the variety of intellectual interventions, and (c) the level of awareness of an international division of intellectual labor.