Del Estado en singular al Estado en plural: Contribución para una historia social de las agencias estatales en la Argentina

Abstract

In the last years, social sciences' academic production in Argentina have shown new theoretical and methodological perspectives, emphasizing social dimensions which were limitedly considered by previous works which have analyzed the history of the State. Particularly, some approaches which were concerned about understanding the specific historicities of the state agencies' [in plural] institutional projects emerged avoiding consideration of the State [in singular] like a sociological category with homogeneous intentions. In this work we argue that this novel analysis enables to draw a map of the State in which a diversity of institutions, actors, logics and social practices are identified. It is a good starting point for the study of the genesis and the development of states agencies and their public officials' differentiation and specialization processes. This analysis is illustrated through the Departamento Nacional del Trabajo institutional trajectory between 1907 and 1930