Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:35:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 5586.pdf: 1088602 bytes, checksum: 0080f5579714a812a1835e6e3287a1c7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-08-30 / Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / This research is aimed at having deeper knowledge of the challenges faced by a group of university professors to consolidate academic practices with the environmental thematic, having the path of their personal and professional lives as reference, presented by means of biographical narratives. Throughout this study there is an attempt to identify: what are the factors related to the admittance and permanence of professors in the environmental field; what are the mediating elements in the construction processes of academic practices with the environmental thematic; what are the factors inherent to their actions, which move them towards consolidating environmental culture in the academic context. The interpretation of the content in the narratives was based on the theoretical contribution by Isabel Cristina de MouraCarvalho with regards to myths of origin, means of access and rites of admittance to the environmental field; by Hannah Arendt, on the conception of action, and by René Kaes on the conception of intermediate. The results analysis reveals that the childhood experiences of being close to nature, the participation in the social movements in the 70 s and the qualification as an academic researcher are memories brought out from memory, which delineate the myth of origin. The presence of formation of intermediaries in the academic context allowed professors to consolidate academic practices with the environmental thematic. In the absence of these formations remain the conflicts and crisis that, despite jeopardizing advances, don t stop the mobilization of professors for action, for new constructions.The professors actions are mainly found in setting academic practicesoriented by collectivity principles, which highlight the issue of creating groups as space forfruitful dialogues in order to consolidate environmental culture in the academic context. / Esta pesquisa buscou aprofundamentos a respeito dos desafios enfrentados por um grupo de docentes universitários para consolidar práticas acadêmicas com a temática ambiental, tendo como referência suas trajetórias de vida pessoal e acadêmica, reveladas por meio de narrativas biográficas. No percurso do estudo buscaram-se identificar que fatores estão relacionados com a entrada e a permanência dos docentes no campo ambiental; quais são os elementos mediadores nos processos de construção das práticas acadêmicas com a temática ambiental; quais são os fatores inerentes às ações por eles realizadas que os movem para consolidar a cultura ambiental no contexto acadêmico. A interpretação dos conteúdos das narrativas pautou-se nos contributos teóricos de Isabel Cristina de Moura Carvalho a respeito de mito de origem, vias de acesso e ritos de entrada para o campo ambiental; de Hannah Arendt acerca do conceito de ação e de René Kaës a respeito do conceito de intermediário. A análise dos resultados revelou que as experiências na infância de proximidade com a natureza, a participação nos movimentos sociais da década de 1970 e a formação como pesquisador acadêmico são lembranças resgatadas da memória que delineiam o mito de origem. A presença de formações intermediárias no contexto acadêmico permitiu aos docentes consolidar práticas acadêmicas com a temática ambiental. Nas situações de ausência destas formações permanecem os conflitos e as crises como fatores que, embora comprometam os avanços, não impedem a mobilização dos docentes para a ação, para novas construções. As ações dos docentes encontram-se, principalmente, na direção de configurar práticas acadêmicas orientadas por princípios de coletividade, o que coloca em evidências a questão da formação de grupos como espaços de diálogos frutíferos para a consolidação da cultura ambiental no contexto acadêmico.

Cette recherche interroge le problème auquel se trouvent confrontés les chercheurs qui, en Relations Internationales, dénoncent la domination « occidentale » au sein de cette discipline. Afin de promouvoir le dialogue et la diversité à l’échelle globale, ils défendent l’intérêt d’une démarche réflexive contre les pratiques de fermeture et de hiérarchisation exercées, selon eux, par les chercheurs « mainstream » « positivistes ». Vingt ans après les débuts du programme réflexiviste cependant, l’émergence d’une autocritique sème le doute sur les capacités de ce projet à produire une alternative aux pratiques académiques qu’il dénonce: les chercheurs réflexivistes en Relations Internationales reproduisent-ils la « domination occidentale » qu’ils révoquent ?Pour mener à bien cette recherche, nous avons analysé la publication internationale en Relations Internationales comme une situation d’énonciation à laquelle nous participons en tant que chercheuse réflexiviste. Une enquête socio-historique, menée sur l’internationalisation des chercheurs en RI en Inde et au Brésil, ainsi que l’analyse de différents corpus composés des discours des agents sur lesquels portent notre enquête (les chercheurs « réflexivistes », les chercheurs « mainstream », et les chercheurs indiens et brésiliens), représentent nos sources principales.Conformément aux soupçons formulés par l’autocritique, notre travail met en avant l’eurocentrisme de la thèse de la domination occidentale. Il révèle en outre la naturalisation particulière des rapports sociaux produits par le réflexivisme du fait de son ambition émancipatrice. Cependant, contrairement à cette critique de la critique, nous percevons comme un point positif la prise en compte, par les réflexivistes, de leur participation aux processus de hiérarchisation académique. En effet, notre expérimentation montre que l’acceptation de notre participation aux rapports sociaux que nous étudions a représenté la condition nécessaire pour transformer nos propres rapports sociaux, dans le sens de la diversité et du dialogue académique que nous recherchons. / This research focuses on the problems faced by International Relations scholars who denounce the « Western »-domination of their discipline. In order to promote academic dialogue and diversity, they defend the use of reflexivity against the parochial and discriminative practices allegedly conducted by those they designate as the « mainstream » « positivist » literature. Twenty years after the beginning of the movement, self-criticisms have emerged among the reflexivists. This self-critical appraisal suspects reflexivism of not being able to produce an alternative to the academic practices it denounces; are reflexivist scholars merely reproducing the « Western-domination » they denounce?In order to complete this research, I have analysed International Relations international publication processes as a situation of utterance in which I participate as a reflexivist researcher. A socio-historical investigation on the internationalisation of International Relations in Brazil and India, as well as a textual analysis composed of the discourses of the different academic groups under investigation (the reflexivists, the « mainstream », and the Indian and Brazilian International Relations scholars) represent my main sources of analysis. In accordance with the self-criticism suspicions, my research puts forward the eurocentrism of the « Western-domination thesis ». It also highlights how the fact that reflexivism poses as « critical » generates a specific status quo. However, contrary to this critique of the critique, I consider that, by taking into further account their participation in academic discriminative processes, reflexivists are engaging an encouraging dynamic for reflexivism in International Relations. Indeed the experimentation I conducted through this PhD shows that the acceptance of our participation in the social dynamics we study represents a necessary step toward transforming our social relations in favour of more academic dialogue and diversity.

Following the postmodern discourses of spatial conceptualisation, this study examined the manner in which space in an Open Distance Learning (ODL) University enables or constrains academics’ work as they go about the process of constructing their academic identities. Focusing on academics’ engagement in one college of the University, the study was premised on the assumption that, in the current higher education (HE) dispensation, academic identity construction presumes and demands the existence of supportive space for academics to effect the academic practices. Lefebvre’s (1991) social production of space and Soja’s (1996) Thirdspace were used as lenses to examine the multiple dimensions of space in relation to spatial practices in the College, the spatial policies and the experiences of academics as the users of the Institutional space. Qualitative ethnographic research methods that were used to collect data included a review of the Institutional policies, intranet posts and emails; the observation and photographing of academics’ offices and administrative office space; observation of departmental meeting proceedings and the conducting of semi-structured interviews with academics of different academic ranks. Findings suggested that although some forms of space are supportive of spatial practices that contribute to academic identity construction, the imagined space of the ODL Institution can be unfairly inclusive and inconsiderate of academics’ unique spatial needs. Such inclusivity of space seemed to be inconsistent with the appropriate ODL space as imagined by some participants where academics may work comfortably and with limited restrictions. The study concluded by making recommendations on how the Institution and the academics may manage space for optimal academic identity construction in the College. / Educational Foundations / D. Ed. (Philosophy of Education)