The Ideal of the practical Colombia’s struggle to form a technical elite

392 Pages·1976·38.457 MB·English

by  Safford, Frank

The Ideal of
the Practical
Colombia's Struggle to
Form a Technical Elite
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Latin American Sponsored by the Institute
Monographs, No. 39 of Latin American Studies
The University of Texas
at Austin
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Frank The Ideal of
Safford the Practical
Colombia's Struggle to
Form a Technical Elite
University of Texas Press
Austin
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Safford, Frank, 1935-
The ideal of the practical.
(Latin American monographs; no. 39)
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. Technical education—Colombia—History.
2. Colombia—Economic conditions. I. Title.
II. Series.
T95.S2 607'.861 75-16072
ISBN 0-292-73803-X
Copyright © 1976 by Frank Safford
All rights reserved
With Joan,
for my parents
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Contents
Preface xiii
Conventions Followed xvii
Introduction 3
Part One. Colombia: Its Geography and Society 19
1. Opportunities and Incentives 21
Part Two. Moral and Industrial Education 47
2. Learning to Work 49
Part Three. Academic Science for the Upper Class:
Bourbons and Neo-Bourbons 81
3. The Enlightenment in New Granada 85
4. The Neo-Bourbons, 1821-1845 99
5. The Decline of Neo-Bourbonism 124
Part Four. The Origins of a Colombian Engineering
Profession 141
6. Study Abroad 147
7. The Colegio Militar 166
8. Stumbling Progress, 1863-1903 185
9. A Place for Engineers 209
Epilogue 227
Appendixes 243
1. Prominent Public Figures Who Promoted Technical
Education, 1821-1864 244