Reinaldo Cortes Quantip

 I

     My research interests were early influenced by my personal concerns about the causes and consequences of political violence in contemporary societies. In this regard, once I finished my BA in Communication, I decided to pursue graduate studies in Political Science. My goal was to learn about political violence, ideology, radicalisms, myths in politics, polarization, and political communication overall. My Master Thesis was an examination of the use of symbols and myths in political and ideological rhetoric.  

     During my graduate studies, I began to teach at the University of the Andes – Tachira. From the very beginning, I was in charge of the courses Ethics and Law in Communication and Journalism, and Visual Communication.    

     In 2002 I was tenured as a full-time professor at the University of Los Andes. In 2003 I proposed to the Department of Communication of the university the seminar Democratic Culture and Human Rights. The course was created with one specific goal:  to understand the causes and consequences of political violence, not only for Venezuela but in contemporary societies overall. My personal satisfaction was to realize the invaluable atmosphere of analysis and discussion of the class. Democratic Culture and Human Rights quickly evolved into a more complex seminar, with an impact beyond the classroom. It stimulates the debate, discussion, and research, in the university as we try to figure out possible scenarios in places where democracies and democratic institutions could be at risk, places or situations where the shadows of political violence could appear.

     For this seminar, my personal concern was to use improved techniques of debate and deliberation, by encouraging the students' creative thinking in the understanding of the basics of the conflicts studied, and the developing of proposals to deal with them. My personal belief is that understanding and anticipation of events represent key skills for future professionals of education at any level or area of knowledge.  From this specific seminar, we tried to put in practice the belief that "since wars begin in the minds of human beings, it is in the minds of human beings that the defenses of peace must be constructed" (Unesco Constitution).

II

  During my time at the University of the Andes, my responsibilities as a professor included administrative duties, such as Academic Counselor, Chair of the Department, or researcher at the University of the Andes. Also, I became involved in the coordinating of extension activities like the Movie Film Club, space where the students could express their creativity, a step beyond movie criticism and participation forums.

III

     In this journey of life as a professor and researcher, my family has been an outstanding support for me. Bella, my wife, is my life partner since 2001. She shares with me the passion for university and academy life. She holds a BA in Communication and an MS in Marketing. We have two daughters: Allyson, our first daughter, was born in Panama City, Panama. She is an eleven years old elementary school student, fluent both in Spanish and English, and is a very sensitive young girl, passionate about soccer, and everything about ecology and environmental issues. Our second daughter, Andrea, is a spontaneous five years old pre-k student, a true fan of Disney movies. Bella, Allyson and Andrea are the love of life and represent my greatest motivation for the continuous development of my academic passion.