ABSTRACT
During the past two decades, the institutional life of social sciences in Latin America has become more complex in several ways. It has grown irregularly in its institutions and disciplines and with different rhythms and intensities in various countries. It has also diversified its institutional models, activities, orientations, themes and theoretical and methodological approaches. In addition there are now different institutional sizes, incomes, influential power and prestige and a more complex insertion of social sciences in society: the target audiences, types of activity and the results of research activity have changed.
