Eurocentric thinking: Limitation for social use of knowledge in Latin American universities

• Henry Alberto Rodríguez Urdaneta

  Universidad Nacional Experimental Rafael María Baralt. Cabimas, Venezuela

  https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7030-4753

• Ana Ysabel Núñez Escobar

  Universidad Nacional Experimental Rafael María Baralt. Cabimas, Venezuela.

  https://orcid.org/0009-0005-1406-6216

The purpose of this essay was to reflect on the influence and predominance of Eurocentric thought in Latin American universities and the limitations it imposes on the social use of the knowledge generated within them. It examined how Eurocentrism manifests itself in the social sciences through theoretical frameworks, research agendas, and educational policies that impose and legitimize power relations between nations. The university context was analyzed, with particular attention to the use of knowledge produced in academic institutions and its actual contribution to Latin American societies. The theoretical framework drew on Caba and García (2014), Quijano (2019), De León (2022), and Gómez and Vicuña (2020), each contributing insights into the relationship between Eurocentrism, modernity, and coloniality, imperial influence on education, and the hierarchization of other forms of knowledge. It was concluded that universities must assume a leading role in promoting democracy, responsibility, and solidarity through policies of epistemological inclusion, effective engagement with social actors, and evaluation criteria that assess the relevance and social impact of scientific production within these institutions.

1. Henry Alberto Rodríguez Urdaneta, Universidad Nacional Experimental Rafael María Baralt. Cabimas, Venezuela

   Participante del Doctorado en Ciencias Sociales (UNERMB). MSc. en Ciencias de la Comunicación; Lcdo. en Comunicación Social. Mención: Periodismo Audiovisual. Docente del Programa Ingeniería LUZ-COL y Postgrado UNERMB, Maestría Gerencia de Innovación Tecnológica.

2. Ana Ysabel Núñez Escobar , Universidad Nacional Experimental Rafael María Baralt. Cabimas, Venezuela.

   Participante del Doctorado en Ciencias Sociales (UNERMB). MSc. en Ciencias de la Comunicación; Lcda. en Comunicación Social. Mención: Periodismo Audiovisual. Personal Administrativo Unermb. Con experiencia docente en Programas Nacionales de Formación en UNERMB y UNES.

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Copyright (c) 2026 Henry Alberto Rodríguez Urdaneta, Ana Ysabel Núñez Escobar

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

ISSN:2244-7857

Depósito Legal: ppi200902CA3925