Eduardo Neira Alva and John F. C. Turner

(De)constructing paradigms on self-construction, self-management and community action, 1958-1963

Abstract

Although John F. C. Turner's output is broad and significant, one can say that it is through some specific reference works that we can understand his basic thinking on slums and housing problems in so-called "underdeveloped" countries, which has made him known worldwide. This does not mean in any way that these topics were not discussed and/or addressed in the countries of the continent (with greater or lesser emphasis); or in other words, Turner’s approach to these topics was not new to us, but it was to the "developed" countries, especially European ones and the United States, as demonstrated by some researchers. What can be seen is that, from the 1960s onwards, we witnessed the consolidation and affirmation of a theoretical basis that focused on topics such as self-construction, self-management, and community action. Contrary to the aforementioned scenario, we are interested in focusing in this chapter on a debate that also brings to light characters and experiences (erased, forgotten or ignored) that, in our understanding, were fundamental for the elaboration of such theoretical corpus. Thus, we are interested, on the one hand, in understanding how this appropriation of experiences occurred by identifying (or not) parallels, advances, and possible contributions; and, on the other, in relativizing and challenging the originality of Turner's theoretical basis.