A história do pensamento evolutivo biológico a partir da análise de obras de arte

Abstract

This research is based on the question of what would be the contribution, offered to the continuing education of Science and Art teachers, when the understanding of History of Science comes from the reading of pictorial works of art. The study of historical episodes can offer a broad discussion about the process of construction and propagation of certain scientific theories, their influences on society and their eventual rejection. In this perspective, the possibilities of using structured analysis of pictorial works of art are perceived: Art can show evidences about the context in which knowledge is produced. The goal of this research is to implement and analyze a continuing education course proposition, directed to in service Science and Art teachers, that focus the understanding of aspects of the history of evolutionary thinking by means of iconological analysis of pictorial works of art. The methodology used in conducting this investigation consists in a qualitative research, of bibliographic, descriptive and analytical nature. The course was implemented at the State Arts Training Center Guido Viaro, located in Curitiba – PR, consisting on five meetings – 20 hours total – and main contents as following: the history of evolutionary thinking and the iconological method of reading works of art. The analysis of the data collected during the course – such as impressions of the researcher in a logbook, responses that the participants offered to questionnaires applied at the beginning and at the end of the course, as well as their production during the activities – was based on Laurence Bardin’s content analysis. In addition to the course, two works of art related to the history of evolutionary thinking were analyzed using the methodology of Erwin Panofsky: Cabinet of Curiosities, by Domenico Remps, and Ham’s Redemption, by Modesto Brocos. As a result, it was noticed that the works of art, when analyzed from a perspective of the history of evolutionary thinking, can help promoting an understanding of the History of Science, in addition to enabling contextualized and dialogical teaching. The continuing education in question contributed to the opening of participant teachers to new practices, as they showed motivation and involvement. An interactive guide was produced as educational product, containing many suggestions of sites, articles, activities, books, podcasts, documentaries, as well as a step by step orientation to replicate the continuing education course, that can be adapted to classrooms.