Narrativas de naturalistas europeus e seus contributos para o ensino de biologia contextualizado: um olhar no Brasil do século XIX

Abstract

European naturalists Johann Baptist Ritter von Spix and Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius made a trip to Brazil that was recorded in a diary composed of three volumes, entitled “Reise in Brasilien”. In the present work, organized in multipaper format, we present and discuss the results of a qualitative research whose general objective was to analyze and propose contributions to the teaching of biology from the reports of naturalists Spix and Martius. The study is based on the Interpretativist paradigm, dealing with documentary and bibliographic research, with selection, categorization and content analysis (BARDIN, 1979). The source for data collection was the second volume of the “Reise in Brasilien” (Viagem pelo Brasil), entitled “Através da Bahia” (1938 edition), which records the passage of Spix and Martius through Bahia, in 1818. Several other works about Spix and Martius's trip to Brazil, which occurred between 1817 and 1820, were analyzed, accompanying the expedition that brought Princess Leopodina to her wedding with Prince Pedro de Alcântara. The Austrian Mission brought several European scientists and artists motivated by the curiosity about tropical nature and local population, in addition to the habits and the economic potential of Brazilian lands. The analysis of the context of travel and the time of European naturalists made it possible to organize an explanatory table of the scientific and historical scenario that influenced Spix and Martius in the 19th century. This knowledge can contribute to a contextualized teaching of biology guided by the history of science. The analysis of the work “Através da Bahia” identified several passages that could be used in the teaching of biology, thinking of some of its subdivisions: botany, zoology, ecology and ethnobiology, in addition to others, such as microbiology and paleontology, which may be the object of other future studies. The analysis of this work and others linked to that expedition to Brazil also enabled the production of a didactic resource (an E-book), which will support a sequence of various-content activities suggested for biology teaching. Finally, based on information about the traditional knowledge of the time of the naturalists and its applications in the teaching of biology, it was possible to reflect on the formation of teachers sensitive to cultural diversity, which is so present in the classrooms.