Gianni's Blog

My favorite subject until now has been Social Justice, a course given by Paula Vidal. The most imporant part of the course is the different types of democracy there are, giving a detailed explanation of each kind and the examples of it the are around the world. Besides, there is a part of the course destined to the different kinds of social struggles that arise in relation to the rise of the neoliberal state. What I liked the most about the subject was that I didn’t know about all the varied ways a State can function in regards to the globalization of capital. I also liked the way Vidal introduces marxism into the critique of the modern state and the chilean government since the Dictatorship and the new economic system it installed. The way this can be linked to social work gave me a new understanding of the impact our profession can have in  the lives of people and the abolition of the system. Finally, I can say that this course gave me a lot of different tolos to implement chang...

Maybe he’s not someone specifically linked to Social Work, but one of the most important characters from the XX century, in regards to Marxist theory is Antonio Gramsci. I love the new terms in which he works the concept of ideology in the new capitalist societies. But his theory about the way in which culture appears inside the reproduction of the hegemony of the capitalist State is my favorite. This theory, through culture, is very important in the ways it can be applied to Social Work, in the Marxist perspective within the profession, and also in other different aspects of society. What I like the most about Gramsci is the struggle he kept while being in prison during the fascist era of Italy during the 1930’s, a lot of his works and books being written from jail. He was someone who was always with the communist fight in hard times. And his importance is such that he inspired and influenced greatly other post-marxist authors like Louis Althusser and others.

One of my favorite sports is riding a bike, even though I hated it when I was a kid. I don’t know what went through my head until two years ago when I saved up some money and bought myself a “fixie” bike. At the beginning it was hard learning to ride again, until I got the rhythm and got myself a group of friends with who I could ride everywhere. Sometimes we go to the San Cristóbal or the Panul Hill. Other times we’ve gone to Pomaire, San José of Maipo, or other places at the outskirts of Santiago, so I can spend more time away from home.