Biography

Sebastian Zuñiga Gougain is a sociologist, musicologist and musician. As a post-doctoral researcher at the Centre for Social Studies, his recent and ongoing projects include CONCILIARE: Confidently Changing Colonial Heritage, an interdisciplinary research project coordinated by the University of Coimbra and funded by the European Research Executive Agency (HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-01-04; 2024-2027), and the H2020 project UNCHARTED: Understanding, Capturing and Fostering the Societal Value of Culture (2020-2024), coordinated by the University of Barcelona. He holds a PhD in Sociology, Post-colonialisms and Global Citizenship from CES and FEUC, as well as a Master's degree in Musicology from the Faculty of Arts at the University of Chile and a Bachelor's degree in Sociology from the Faculty of Economics at the University of Coimbra. During his PhD, he conducted sociological research on urban indigenous music and dance practices in Santiago, Chile, studying them as a social phenomenon that contributes to the revaluation of different forms of aesthetic expression, cultural identity, and political organisation. He has teaching experience as a music conductor and professor of music historiography and artistic methodology, and research experience in archival work on the project Social musical practices during modernity expansion in Chile, in higher education institutions such as the University of Santiago, the University of Chile, the Bolivarian University of Chile, Higher School of Jazz and Popular Music, and the Professional Institute Modern School of Music and Dance. He also holds postgraduate diplomas in Sociology (University of Lisbon) and Cultural Administration (Pontifical Catholic University of Chile).