Full professor and research director at the School of Advanced Social Studies (IDAES) - National University of San Martín
Visiting professor 2025-2026: January 10 to February 20, 2026
Host researcher: Samir Boumedienne
Biography
Guillermo Wilde holds a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropological Sciences (1999) and a PhD in Philosophy and Literature, specializing in Sociocultural Anthropology (2003), both from the University of Buenos Aires. Since 2005, he has been a senior researcher at the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) in Argentina. Since 2011, he has also held the position of full professor at the National University of San Martín.
His professional career includes several research and teaching stays at international institutions, notably as a visiting professor at Harvard University (Villa I Tatti, 2023), the European University Institute in Florence (2022), Sorbonne University (2019-2020), Waseda University (Tokyo), and the National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka (Japan).
He has received numerous awards, including the James Alexander Robertson Prize (2023) for the best article published in the Hispanic American Historical Review, the Ciro Flávio Bandeira de Mello Prize (2019) for an article in Varia Historia , and the Argentine National Prize for Historical Essays (2013). He was also awarded the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) Ibero-American Prize in 2010 for his work.
His current research focuses on Jesuit missions in South America in the 17th and 18th centuries, particularly on cultural and religious interactions between missionaries and indigenous peoples, such as the Guarani. He explores the dynamics of social memory, rituals, and transcultural knowledge through international collaborative projects, such as the critical online edition of historical sources and the creation of specialized glossaries.
Collaboration with IHRIM
Guillermo Wilde is a renowned specialist in historical anthropology and studies of the South American cone. His work, carried out at international institutions such as Villa I Tatti (Harvard), the European University Institute (Florence), IHEAL, EHESS, and Sorbonne University, reflects a multidisciplinary approach combining anthropology, history, linguistics, and Hispanic studies.
His visit to IHRIM is part of a scientific complementarity approach. His research on historical sources, Jesuit missions, and cultural dynamics in colonial America ties in with the themes explored by the "Imagination and History of Science and Technology" research group, particularly the work of Samir Boumediene. His methodology, based on critical analysis and the editing of documents, corresponds to the approaches developed by several members of IHRIM, as well as by researchers from other laboratories in Lyon such as LARHRA and Triangle.
Furthermore, his arrival would broaden IHRIM’s range of courses by offering classes on colonial America and the global history of the Iberian worlds, subjects that are still rarely addressed in the current curriculum. Finally, his knowledge of Guarani and his expertise on indigenous societies could open up new avenues of research and promote fruitful exchanges with the laboratory’s students and researchers.
Major publications
- Catolicismos de la Colonia a la República. Nuevas miradas desde el Sur . Rosario: Prohistoria Ediciones , 2023 [volume edited in collaboration with V. Ayrolo and M. E. Barral].
- Los anfibios y reptiles de El Paraguay natural ilustrado, de Joseph Sánchez Labrador. Estudio preliminar, notas y comentarios de Esteban O. Lavilla y Guillermo Wilde . Tucumán: Fundación Miguel Lillo , 2020. Online digital version.
- Saberes de la Conversión. Jesuitas, indígenas e Imperios Coloniales en las Fronteras de la Cristiandad . Buenos Aires: Editorial SB (612 pages), 2011. [Volume edited with the contribution of 24 authors].
- Religión y Poder en las Misiones de Guaraníes . Buenos Aires. Editorial SB (509 pages), 2009 (Republished in 2016). [Latin American Studies Association Book Award 2010.]
