Objective.

To contribute, from a historical-critical analysis, to the recognition of the historical determinations that marked the emergence of Social Work between 1920 and 1950.

Methodology.

From a qualitative historical analysis based on documentary analysis and interviews, the consolidation of industrial development, the liberal political project and the women’s movement are analyzed, which together with other historical, political and social elements marked and characterized the professional emergence.

Results.

The historical elements that gave rise to Social Work in Colombia are identified, leaving aside endogenous or historiographic views of the profession, making it possible to clarify the panorama around the before and after of the emergence of Social Work in Colombia.

Conclusion.

The analysis on the origin of Social Work in Colombia that is carried out in this article goes beyond the endogenous views that academia has fostered and locates the relationship between the history of the country and professional emergence.

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