A famous sociologist accused of harassing former students at the University of Coimbra in Portugal | world

The Portuguese sociologist Boaventura de Souza Santos has been accused of harassment by three former students at the Center for Social Studies (CES) at the University of Coimbra, where he works as director and professor. The Thinker is internationally recognized for his research and has books published in several languages.

The allegations surfaced after reports of mistreatment appeared in an article in the book Sexual Misconduct in Academia – Towards an Ethic of Caring at University, published by a British publisher in late March. The authors also charge Associate Professor Bruno Senna Martins.

In the work, the authors do not name the institution or those involved in the case: the harassers are identified only as “O Professor Estrella” and “O Apprendez”. However, given the publication context and the authors’ histories, it was possible to infer the identities of the alleged harassers.

In response to a question by the Portuguese newspaper “Diario de Noticias”, Souza Santos and Martins confirmed that they were the persons mentioned in the report, but they denied the accusations.

In a statement released on Tuesday (11), CES regretted the events and announced the launch of its own investigation to investigate the case.

“The Economic and Social Council will establish an independent committee in a short period of time, which will be responsible for identifying any institutional failures and investigating the occurrence of any unethical behavior referred to in that chapter. The committee will consist of two external components, one that will be chaired, and the CES provider,” the statement reads. .