Name: VITOR BESSA ZACCHÉ
Publication date: 31/07/2024
Examining board:
Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| FREDERICO CASTRO DE CARVALHO | Examinador Externo |
| PAULO CESAR SCARIM | Presidente |
| SARAH LAWALL | Examinador Externo |
| SOLER GONZALEZ | Examinador Interno |
| VALDELINO GONCALVES DOS SANTOS FILHO | Examinador Interno |
Summary: The thesis examines the relevance of visual representations in geography, focusing on how different models of the Earth influence the understanding of the world. By addressing the subject through the analysis of Flat Earth theory and its resurgence as a provocative topic against traditional scientific discourse, it highlights how political and cultural debates influence new academic propositions and the perception of the world image. The resistance of Flat Earthers to accept established scientific evidence illustrates the conflict between different worldviews. By exploring how cosmologies from various cultures offer distinct perspectives on the shape of the world and characterize the world with different images according to their cosmologies, the absence of this diversity of views on the same planet is analyzed to characterize the holistic dimension of cosmology. Based on a bibliographic review of classical geography, including authors like Bernard Varenious, Immanuel Kant, Humboldt, and Emmanuel De Martonne, it demonstrates the persistence of the question of the Earth's shape in the foundations of geographic thought, grounded in the reading and direct interpretation of these authors, as well as other articles, theses, and dissertations on their epistemology and history. The significance of scientists likeCopernicus and Newton as influencers in the referential characterization of a world image in the evolutionary line of geographic thought is also demonstrated. Even though Copernicus popularized the heliocentric model, radically modifying the vision of the universe, and Newton described the universe as a mechanical system governed by mathematical laws, Humboldt, for example, used integrative and empirical analyses, emphasizing the interconnectedness of natural phenomena and proposing a holistic view of the world that still resonates in modern geography. Contextualizing the foundation of geographic thought to various cosmologies, the analysis also focuses on how the world image is formulated at the core of geography through cosmography, thus providing a critical analysis of the integration of diverse perspectives on such a statement and their potential for geography education. It considers curriculum revisions to encourage reflection on world images and the appreciation of cosmography in a holistic and inclusive manner, considering the conceptions of other cultures and societies, such as indigenous ones, already conferred to the National Curriculum Parameters. To illustrate the classroom field and the theme of cosmographic teaching in geography education, a qualitative survey was conducted with teachers of this discipline to understand how they learned and teach these topics, as well as the main references they use in their teaching. The results provided insights that direct the content for discussion on how visual representations can simplify the world image when corroborated directly with images solely from modern scientific development, the astronomical image (NASA, space travel, man on the moon). Finally, it addresses the field of phenomenology in geographic knowledge, particularly in the diversity of readings that geography develops about landscapes, spaces, images, representations, and experience, using the epistemological tools possessed by geography for contemporary approaches to the various ways of representing the world. This theme falls under education, verifying the need to create spaces of freedom within the classroom, promoting diversity of ideas and opinions, especially in the face of processes that exclude traditions and cultures, making education a reference in recognizing and valuing multiple experiences and knowledge, promoting transformation through criticality.
