Presentation

What if we inhabit the ancestral?

Paloma Marín Escobar

How to cite this article in APA:

Marín Escobar, P. (2025). What if we inhabit the ancestral? [Presentation]. Revista Colombiana de Ciencias Sociales, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.21501/22161201.5127

Research practices may lead us into a fallacy if, when dealing with ancestral themes, they create the impression that their subject of study exists only within the confines of academic discourse. This perception suggests that ancestral knowledge survives solely within the pages of scholarly articles, compilations, or books, rather than recognizing it as a living, evolving experience beyond academic boundaries.

This misconception arises because, before even questioning or reflecting on ancestral knowledge, it is essential to acknowledge that it is the researcher who brings the subject into focus, claiming it as their own. This process follows a productive and reproductive logic of thought that externalizes knowledge through discourse rather than truly engaging with the other. Genuine engagement requires more than discourse; it demands an approach that brings the researcher into direct interaction with the object of study—an encounter that extends beyond theoretical abstraction to an immersive and expansive experience of the world.

To take a more radical approach to inhabiting otherness, the meeting point between the researcher and the ancestral should not be situated within their existing epistemological frameworks or an idealized center of validation. On the contrary, the researcher must expand their field of inquiry, venture into the space of mediation, and be willing to inhabit unfamiliar terrain. This engagement with the foreign fosters an immeasurable openness in research, exceeding predefined methodological routes and embracing an uncertainty that is as generative for creativity as it is for the exploration of the unknown. The shift towards the other and the commitment to inhabiting the ancestral necessitates both a relinquishment of preconceived notions and an adoption of a new perspective—one shaped by the wisdom of what is often perceived as foreign but, in reality, has never been so. It is we who are the outsiders.

Volume 16, Number 1 presents academic contributions that explore the voices of ancestral communities, indigenous territories, and their cultural expressions. It examines the interplay between human activity and other species, as well as psychological and social phenomena such as confinement, adolescence, labor conditions, and the role of artificial intelligence in education. Additionally, it features reflections on labor issues, considering both their social and economic dimensions and the impact of emerging technologies. This edition includes seven research articles, three review papers, and two reflective essays derived from research.

The issue opens with an editorial by Sandra Milena Restrepo Escobar and Dubis Marcela Rincón Barreto titled “Alteraciones neuropsicológicas en consumidores de sustancias psicoactivas”. Here, the authors provide an in-depth literature review that highlights the relationship between substance use and its biological implications. Their work brings to light the importance of studying substance users not only from the perspective of addiction but also in terms of the broader social and neuropsychological consequences. Their analysis underscores the need for interdisciplinary research that integrates biological, psychological, and psychosocial dimensions to enhance rehabilitation practices.

Among the research articles, the first is titled “Diferencia étnica, potencialidades y buen-vivir en la «comunicación indígena». Estudio de caso del grupo Tejiendo pensamiento Pijao» (Tolima, Colombia)”, by Andrés Felipe Ortiz Gordillo. This study examines a mode of communication distinct from Western paradigms, highlighting the role of non-human agents in knowledge transmission and emphasizing a worldview deeply rooted in indigenous cosmogonies.

The second article, “Al Rescate de lo Propio. Construcción de espacios diferenciales para los indígenas privados de la libertad en el sistema carcelario colombiano”, by Miguel Álvarez Correa, analyzes the implications of a pilot project that promotes differentiated treatment for indigenous individuals deprived of liberty. This work invites reflection on the nature and dynamics of incarceration within indigenous communities. Another study, “ Depresión en adolescentes escolarizados asociados a algunos factores psicosociales en cuatro municipios de Antioquia”, by Ramón Paniagua Suárez, Carlos González Posada, Sandra Milena Rueda Ramírez, Ilder Horacio Tangarife, and Cesar Sánchez Taborda, explores mental health issues among young populations, emphasizing the need for public health interventions based on statistical analyses.

Further, the article “Mi jefe es una ap y me explota: subjetividades de precariedad de repartidores y conductores de aplicaciones bajo demanda”, by Cristian Bedoya Dorado and Deidi Maca Urbano, critically examines the labor conditions of gig economy workers. By analyzing discourse and empirical data, the authors interrogate how algorithmic management perpetuates exploitation under the guise of flexible entrepreneurship. The research article “¿Rompiendo la regla? El comportamiento de los expresidentes mexicanos en Twitter durante la pandemia COVID-19 2020-2022”, by Christian Cruz-Meléndez and Sergio Coria-Olguín, explores how the pandemic served as a social catalyst for former Mexican leaders to defy the traditional expectation of political disengagement post-presidency.

Additionally, “La dinámica de la desigualdad del ingreso en Colombia: descenso y ascenso entre 2010 y 2021”, by Lucía Trujillo Salazar, provides a statistical analysis of income disparities, considering the impact of formal and informal economies, private transfers, and labor market structures.

To conclude the research articles section, the study titled “Dimensión social de la organización del trabajo: Su incidencia en el síndrome de Burnout”, by Héctor L. Bermúdez, Diana Marcela Benjumea Calderón, and Daniela Córdoba Toro, presents an analysis of the incidence of burnout syndrome in relation to the structural conditions of the social dimension of work, rather than exclusively attributing it to the physical and emotional factors affecting the employee. This perspective fosters a critical stance regarding the implementation of interventions that address this debilitating occupational disease from within the very structure of work itself.

The review section comprises three articles. The first, “Impacto del síndrome de burnout y la actividad física en el rol del docente universitario. Revisión documental”, by Catalina Andrea Grisales Bermúdez, Maira Alejandra González Gómez, Hernán Darío Morant Ramírez, and Mónica María Álvarez Gallego, seeks to analyze the strategies available to university professors for coping with burnout syndrome, taking into account factors such as physical activity, healthy lifestyles, and emotional intelligence. Meanwhile, the study “Impacts of artificial intelligence on educational actors (2015–2023)”, by Hernando Barrios Tao and Vianney Díaz-Pérez, offers a forward-looking perspective based on arguments from the literature both in favor of and against the implementation of AI in educational practices, considering its effects on both teachers and students. The findings highlight the need to incorporate more voices from educators regarding the impact of AI in educational settings.

Additionally, the article “Multispecies family: state-of-the-art and future directions in the Ibero-American context”, by Hugo Alejandro Bedoya Díaz, addresses a crucial topic for inquiry: the evolving notion of family in contemporary and future societies, particularly regarding the inclusion of non-human species. In this regard, the author examines various dimensions directly influenced by the human-animal bond.

In the section dedicated to reflective articles derived from research, the study “Análisis del proceso de estructuración del Sistema Indígena de Salud Propio e Intercultural en el departamento de Amazonas, Colombia”, by Lina Paola Garzón, Pablo Montoya Chica, and Gustavo Suárez Lucas, provides a significant contribution to the field of public health. It examines both the progress and limitations of implementing the Indigenous System of Autonomous and Intercultural Health (SISPI), recognizing the role of ancestral forms of care and approaches to disease treatment.

Our issue concludes with the article “Seguridad, obediencia y gestación de la violencia en contextos de encierro”, by Claudia Liliana Perlo, Diego Carmona Gallego, and María Celeste Carlín. In this work, the authors analyze violence as an inescapable germ inherent to certain contexts due to its structural interconnection with them—such as the prison system and its punitive paradigm. From an epigenetic perspective, their reflection also extends to contexts of care, emphasizing the complex interplay between structural conditions and the emergence of violence.

We extend our gratitude to the authors, reviewers, and readers who contribute to the academic community of our journal, fostering dialogue across disciplines and reinforcing the role of research as a testament to our collective history.