The Capes-PrInt program and the internationalization of Brazilian sociology: between policies, perceptions, and experiences
Capes-PrInt; internationalization; graduate programs; sociology; centers and peripheries.
The main objective of this doctoral dissertation is to analyze the processes ofinternationalization within Brazilian sociology, taking as its case study the ProgramaInstitucional de Internacionalização, Capes-PrInt (2019–2024). Understanding the circulationof researchers as a key element in the legitimation of scientific spaces, the study criticallyexamines internationalization by investigating how centers and peripheries mobilize theconcept and, more specifically, how Brazilian sociology positions itself within this process.The research explores how sociologists circulate among unequal spaces, questioning whethersuch flows foster genuine global dialogue or tend to reproduce the hierarchies of the scientificfield. The specific objectives are: (1) to review and analyze the concept ofinternationalization; (2) to present and discuss the main internationalization strategies adoptedby Brazil and other countries; (3) to systematize data related to the Capes-PrInt programwithin the field of sociology; and (4) to investigate the perceptions, trajectories, experiencesand evaluations of professors of sociology graduate programs participating in the initiative.The methodology combines a literature review, based primarily on the debate about centersand peripheries in the circulation of knowledge; document analysis of graduate regulations;systematization and analysis of Capes-PrInt data; and the application of questionnaires andsemi-structured qualitative interviews with participating sociology professors. The studyidentified a cleavage between center and periphery understandings of internationalization,indicating the need for situated analyses. In the Brazilian case, internationalization hasbecome a systematic component of academic careers in recent decades; however, its meaningsand demands unfold in complex and plural ways, marked by tensions and divergencesbetween institutional conceptions and those perceived by the professors. The absence ofinstitutional counterparts and a robust evaluation plan for Capes-PrInt have made internationalstays heavily dependent on the individual strategies of researchers. The research also foundthat personal and practical dimensions shaped the choice of destinations and the formation ofnetworks, suggesting the presence of factors that go beyond the program’s objectives. Thus,internationalization takes on multiple meanings: on the one hand, it can expand andconsolidate research networks; on the other, it may be mobilized for different purposes. Thestudy concludes that while internationalization programs such as Capes-PrInt have thepotential to strengthen Brazilian sociology as an active participant in global dialogue, they canbe also used to meet demands that do not necessarily aim at international insertion.