Public Relations and Training in Values

The beginnings of Public Relations in Argentina have been marked by a practical and professional imprint, which determined a different path from that of other areas of communication. In fact, its theoretical discussion has been scarce in local academic circles. The state of the art regarding the conceptual reflection on its nature, purpose, methodology and objectives has been, in our opinion, "corseted" by the dominant paradigm, centered on a functionalist and systemic perspective that offers, as we will argue, a restrictive and even more reductionist view of what "relating publicly" implies. This state of the art has been developed, we will argue, from a strong commitment to the famous dichotomy between facts and values. This monographic research paper aims to offer a critical elaboration that (i) accounts for a possible (and necessary) re-signification of Public Relations and (ii) opens a new conceptual horizon to explore the way in which it is reflected in the reorientation of its teaching in the field of higher education.