UNU Council Members
Prof. Gloria Cristina Flórez
Professor, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Peru
Professor Gloria Cristina Flórez was born in Lima, Peru on 31 March 1945. She obtained her Bachelor's Degree in Humanities (1971) at the Pontificia Universidad Cato1ica del Peru. After a year of postgraduate studies in Latin American History at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid, she obtained her Ph.D. in History in 1975. Her thesis was Influence of European Ideas of the Eighteenth Century in the Mercurio Peruano. Her specialization in Medieval Studies was acquired at the Institut d'Etudes Medievales of the Universite Catholique de Louvain, Belgium, and she received the Diploma in Medieval Studies in 1977.
Professor Flórez started her teaching career as the Chief of Practicum Division in World History at the Pontificia Universidad Cato1ica del Peru (1973-1975). She became an Assistant Professor in 1978 at the Universidad de Lima, obtaining her tenure as Associate Professor in 1990, and Tenured Full Professor since 1996. She was Committee member in-charge of expanding the project for History's specialization and requirements for Pre-professional Practices at the Universidad de Lima.
A new teaching experience started at the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, obtaining her tenure in 2000. Her experience in different levels at these Universities is accompanied by her work in Centres, such as the Peruvian Diplomatic Academic, the Pedagogic Institute, and various other cultural institutions on the national and international level. These tasks allowed her during the last two decades to give courses, seminars and workshops for school and university teachers regarding techniques of teaching history and methods of researching, as well as elaborating historical audiovisual materials.
Concerned with the gap between secondary and university education, Professor Flórez modified the traditional curriculum in social science methodology and put it into practice at a private school for four years. This change led her to win a first prize for A New Experience in Apprenticeship in the Classroom. Professor Flórez was also interested in the promotion of national conscience in countries with different ethnic and cultural components, with a different view of teaching national and world history. This was the topic of her opening address to history students held at the Katholieke Univertiet te Leuven in 1996.
While studying in Belgium, Professor Flórez received a research fellowship granted by the Spanish Foreign Office which started at the Archivo General de Simancas. Her work Politics, Merchants and Mentalities During the Kingdom of Isabella the Catholic was the beginning of her future work regarding the relationship between Castilian Middle Ages and the Peruvian sixteenth century. With the support of Hispanicist Fellowship granted by the Spanish Foreign Office, she returned in 2004 to the same Archive compiling additional information for her present research The European Medieval Heritage in Peru (XVI-XVII).
In 1987, while participating in the activities for the Bicentennial of the French Revolution, Professor Flórez became interested in Peace Movements at the Year 1000 A.D. as precedent of human rights. She continued and expanded her study of this topic by adding chronological references and widening the geographical scope. Results of this study were presented in 2003 at the Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, with the support of a fellowship awarded by the Spanish Cooperation. At the moment, she is finishing the last details of her book Human Rights and Middle Ages, which will be published shortly.
Professor Flórez has had a great number of articles published in books and specialized magazines on Medieval history, Peruvian history and its relation with European history, human rights prior to the French Revolution and teaching History. She contributes to Dictionnaire d'Histoire et Geographie Eclésiastique and Revue d'Histoire Ecclésiastique, both published by the Université Catholique de Louvain.
She assists in international congresses and seminars as speaker or attendee. She organized both national and international congresses in Peru, including the programme Historia sin fronteras in the Humanities Faculty of Universidad de Lima, interconnecting cultural activities between the diplomatic representations and the said Faculty.
Professor Flórez' other responsibilities include as Academic Coordinator in the Office of Social Projection at the Universidad de Lima (1992-1994) and Council member for national and international relationship in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos. In order to promote better relations with international institutions and professionals, the Ella Dunbar Temple's Professorship was established at the same Faculty, which is under her direction since 2002.
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Page last modified 2008.03.25.
