100 Years of Social Work

On May 4, 1925, the first School of Social Service in Chile and Latin America was founded.

The School of Social Service of Santiago was the first school founded in Latin America, and with the admission of this group of women, not only a new profession was inaugurated, but a social and political movement was also fueled and strengthened — one that, at that time, fought for women’s rights.

One hundred years later, we commemorate this milestone and acknowledge the transformations experienced by this profession and discipline — one of the oldest within the social sciences in Hispanic America.

As a Department of Social Work, we are preparing to commemorate this milestone with a series of activities that not only evoke memory, but also critically examine the training and development of the profession today.

Editorial: 100 Years of Social Work
Social Work History Group — GRHiTS

Study group in the field of History and its intersections, which promotes a space for discussion, reflection, and critical analysis on the development of the Social Work discipline, addressing areas such as:

  • Discussion on historiographical perspectives and the histories of social work in Chile and around the world.
  • Archival work, where the @Laboratorio Trabajo Social is housed, along with other materials associated with primary sources and the newspaper library.
  • Intellectual history, militancy, and left-wing movements, 20th–21st centuries.
  • History of training/education, 19th–20th centuries.
  • History and feminist memory of Social Work.

Members: Gabriela Rubilar, Paula Vidal, Victor Orellana, Carlos Andrade, Hillary Hiner, Claudia Campillo y Lorena Perez.

Podcast: 100 Years… and Counting

This program is a production that celebrates the centennial of Social Work, and is the result of the project of the same name carried out by the Interdisciplinary Studies in Social Work Research Cluster at the University of Chile, together with students, faculty members, and national and international guests.

Hosted by Dr. Gianinna Muñoz and panelist Dr. Gabriela Rubilar.

Listen on Youtube Listen on Spotify
50 Years Since the Dictatorship | Social Work

In 2023, the Department of Social Work at the University of Chile created the Tri-constituency Commission “50 Years”, whose purpose was to coordinate a Commemorative Activities Cycle for the 50th anniversary of the Coup d’État. Students, staff and faculty members participated in this effort, and carried out a calendar of commemorative initiatives including book launches, a film and documentary cycle, and, in September, the activity “A Secret Commitment to Gathering”, which brought together former students and lecturers from previous generations of the Social Service School Doctor Lucio Córdova, the former School of the University of Chile.

See on Instagram
XXIV ALAEITS Seminar

SANTIAGO / CHILE — October 13–15, 2025

In 2025, we celebrate 100 years since the birth of Social Work in Latin America, marked by the founding in Chile of the first school in the discipline. Since then, Social Work has been a key actor in the critique and transformation of social inequalities, confronting capitalism, colonialism and patriarchy. Today, amidst new crises, it reaffirms its commitment to social justice and the defense of human rights.

Website

Other links:

Journal of Critical Proposals in Social Work

MAD Journal

Contact

UChile Privacy Policy

Attributes:

The works contained in this platform are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License.