A Biografia científica de João Manso Pereira, um químico negro no Brasil Colonial: avaliação da contribuição de uma oficina histórico-crítica

Abstract

This thesis aims to analyze the impact of a historical-critical workshop, based on the scientific biography of João Manso, a Black chemist, on the training of future Chemistry teachers. The research was grounded in Karl Marx's Historical-Dialectical Materialism, György Lukács's ontology of social being, and Saviani's Historical-Critical Pedagogy. Initially, we investigated the History of Chemistry in Brazil during the Colonial and Imperial periods, its relationship with the slave system, and the existence of Black Brazilian scientists during these periods. Based on this investigation, we identified the Black chemist João Manso and developed an excerpt of his biography. We then developed and implemented a historical-critical workshop based on the story of João Manso, the history of chemistry in Brazil, and African and Afro-Brazilian history and culture. Through these activities, we sought to historicize the history of chemistry in Brazil and uncover the processes of alienation present in the development of chemistry. After the workshop, semi-structured interviews were conducted with the undergraduate students. The results show that the workshop provided the students with: Knowledge of the history of chemistry in Brazil and Brazilian scientists, a subject they had never studied before; an understanding of chemistry as a historical-social process; and an understanding, albeit implicit, of the processes of humanization and alienation of non-white people and of science itself, which resulted in the expropriation and appropriation of African and Afro-Brazilian knowledge for scientific development. The thesis highlights the importance of a historicized practice of content, anchored in African and Afro-Brazilian history and culture, as implications for chemistry teaching and initial teacher training