When Ten Years Seems More than a Decade. Nostalgia and Pride at two Commemorations of an Argentinian Scientific Training Institute
No. 26 (2016-09-01)Author(s)
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Ana Spivak L’Hoste
Abstract
On August 1, 1955 was the first day of classes in the Institute of Physics of Bariloche (current Balseiro Institute), a training center of physicists and engineers based in Bariloche, Argentina. In 2005, as part of a larger ethnographic work that included open interviews and observations in the institution, I participated in the commemoration of its fiftieth anniversary, which consisted of an academic ceremony and a lunch of camaraderie. Ten years later, in 2015, I joined a new celebration with similar organization. This article will focus on one of the differences that existed between the two celebrations: the emphasis of a foundational and nostalgic past in the first ceremony, and the role of a proud present in the second. It will explore, on the one hand, the nostalgic past and laudatory present that are represented in the events. On the other hand, It will analyze what these past and present enact at each ceremony and the contexts in which are based its differences. It will conclude by providing some clues to advance about the ways in which science and technology policies are experienced by those responsible to acomplish their agendas.
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