Biography

Elísio Estanque was Born in Alentejo. He studied in secondary schools in Aljustrel, Faro and Lisbon. Lived, got job and developed studies in higher education in this city. Studied Sociology at ISCTE - Lisbon University (1981-1985). Was an activist during the revolutionary period (1974-1975 being involved with several social movements and trade union activities. Since 1985 settled in Coimbra, from than on working with the social sciences team at the Faculty of Economics and the Centre for Social Studies (CES)-University of Coimbra. Always rebellious, independent and critical toward any kind of authoritarian behavior, keep being an activist on different left causes, refuses blind submissions of any type and try to use his knowledge and experience at the service of democratic values as well as struggles against social injustice. He is also a regular colaborator in the Portuguese press, including as opinion maker (namely in the daily newspaper 'Público'). In the academic field, he developed research mainly in areas such as: i) sociology of work and company, having carried out pedagogical-scientific tests and a doctorate on the industrial footwear sector (in which he developed a research in São João da Madeira based on 'participant observation' in a local plant where he worked as a manual worker for several months); ii) sociology of organizations; iii) social movements and unionism; iv) student movement and youth cultures; v) classes and social inequalities. As a professor at the Faculty of Economics, he taught several undergraduate, master's and PhD subjects, and also coordinates the doctoral program in «Sociology - Labor Relations, Inequalities and Unionism». As a visiting professor / researcher he traveled to several international universities, namely in Brazil (USP-S. Paulo, Unicamp, UNESP-Franca, UFPel, etc.), in the USA (University of Wisconsin-Madison), in France (Univ. Science Po - Bordeaux), and Germany (Friedrich-Schiller University, Jena). Currently is a Visiting Professor at UFBA - Federal University of Bahia, BRAZIL.