ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author highlights a traditional view of academic work with what he define as an interpretive, or cultural, view of knowledge. He discusses Latin American higher education. The author considers the ramifications of traditional and cultural perspectives. From a traditional perspective, the discipline drives the work of the faculty and, to a large extent, the function and purpose of the university. In many respects Central American universities and their professoriate mirror many of the aspects of institutions and faculty members throughout much of Latin America. Some institutions, such as the University of San Carlos in Guatemala, have a centuries-old tradition of higher learning. A cultural view of knowledge has far-reaching implications for Central American universities and their faculty. The problem from a cultural perspective is that the power relation of the areas will never change as long as participants in Central American universities accept a traditional definition of knowledge production.
