The value of anthropology and the concept of culture in professional training for the strengthening of democracy in Colombia

The loss of humanities in university education is a threat to democracy. Professionals who are not trained in the humanities lack the tools for critical reflection and recognition of difference. Based on an exercise of reflection on teaching experience and literature review, this article establishes the importance of training in the humanities, particularly anthropology, in higher education. The text highlights the dangers for democracy that arise when the humanities are suppressed from professional training. In addition, the concept of culture is used as a justification for the relevance of anthropology and its knowledge in the recognition of difference, the denaturalization of lifestyles and science, and the understanding of the other. The reflection concludes that all these possibilities offered by the concept of culture are central to the defense of democracy.