Em 2014, uma carta dirigida pelo papa Francisco à Pontifícia Academia de Ciências em que ele declarava que as teorias do Big Bang e da evolução não contradiziam o Gênesis foi noticiada em tom de surpresa por diferentes veículos de comunicação, refletindo a ideia solidificada no senso comum de que há um conflito necessário entre Igreja e ciência. Com o objetivo de contribuirmos para a desmistificação desta ideia, ao menos no que tange à cosmologia, analisamos o histórico da relação entre a Igreja Católica, a astronomia e a cosmologia desde a antiguidade até o século XXI, além do histórico de como ciência e religião se constituíram em campos diversos do saber humano. Indo de encontro à posição defendida nas últimas décadas pela historiografia das ciências, de que não há um conflito necessário entre ciência e religião, notamos que a tendência da Igreja Católica é a de posicionar-se favoravelmente aos paradigmas dominantes em cada época. Percebendo-se que a Igreja se posicionou favoravelmente à teoria do Big Bang enquanto esta ainda não tinha se consolidado como paradigma e concorria com teorias rivais, como a do Estado Estacionário, traçamos um panorama do desenvolvimento da cosmologia europeia, dos antigos gregos ao século XXI, na tentativa de compreender não só o desenvolvimento desta ciência, mas de que maneira o Big Bang acabou por se tornar o paradigma do campo e por que se mostrou uma teoria interessante para a Igreja Católica. Analisamos então o histórico, os regimentos, as publicações e as biografias dos membros da Pontifícia Academia de Ciências e do Observatório do Vaticano, além dos pronunciamentos papais feitos a esta Academia, na tentativa de entender de que maneira os cientistas destas instituições influenciam os posicionamentos dos papas sobre cosmologia entre 1936 (ano de fundação da Academia) e 2014, percebendo que as discussões promovidas nos encontros destes estudiosos contribuem para oferecer legitimidade às falas papais sobre ciência, bem como aos posicionamentos da Igreja sobre o assunto. Percebemos também que, no último século, a Igreja Católica se esforçou por reforçar, por meio de seus canais oficiais, a ideia de que mantém relação harmônica com a ciência e contribui para seu desenvolvimento, e investe na Academia e no Observatório como meio de reforçar tais posições, num contexto de laicização do mundo político e acadêmico ocidental, em que sua posição de autoridade moral e política é constantemente questionada e precisa ser defendida. / In 2014, a letter written by Pope Frank to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, where he stated that the evolution and Big Bang theories do not contradict the book of Genesis, was taken by surprise by different means of communication, thus reflecting the common-sense idea that there is a necessary conflict between Church and science. With the purpose of contributing to demystify this idea, at least regarding cosmology, we have analyzed the relationship history among the Catholic Church, astronomy and cosmology up to the 21st century, besides the history as to how science and religion constituted themselves in various fields of human knowledge. By going against the position defended in the last decades by the historiography of sciences that there is a necessary conflict between science and religion, we noted that the trend of the Catholic Church is to position itself favorably to the dominant paradigms in each age. By confirming that the Church has positioned itself favorably to the Big Bang theory while it was still not consolidated as a paradigm, and competed with other theories such as Steady State, we traced an overview of the European cosmology development from ancient Greeks to the 21st century, in an attempt to understand not only the development of this science, but also how the Big Bang became the field paradigm, and why it became an interesting theory to the Catholic Church. Then we analyzed the history, the regiments, publications and biographies of members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Vatican Observatory, besides the papal pronouncements made to this Academy, in an attempt to understand how the scientists of these institutions influenced the Popes\' positions on cosmology between 1936 (year the Academy was founded) and 2014, where we noticed that the discussions promoted when these scholars met contribute to the legitimacy of the Popes\' speeches on science, as well as the Church\'s positions regarding this matter. We also noticed that, via its official channels throughout the last century, the Catholic Church sought to entrench the idea of keeping a harmonic relationship with science, contributing to its development, and investing in the Academy and the Observatory as a means to reinforce such positions, in a context of secularization of the Western political and academic world, where its position of political and moral authority is constantly questioned and needs to be defended.

Nesta dissertação analisamos as posturas epistemológicas de Mário Schenberg em duas obras de juventude, no artigo Princípios de mecânica publicado em 1934 pela Revista Polytechnica, e sua tese de cátedra, também intitulada Princípios de mecânica, defendida em 1944. Tais obras, por tratarem do mesmo tema e possuírem partes homólogas, permitiram caracterizar a movimentação da postura epistemológica do jovem Schenberg já na primeira década de sua vida como estudante e pesquisador. A análise das obras nos permitiu caracterizar uma mudança na postura epistemológica de Schenberg, indo de uma postura epistemológicas predominantemente indutivista a uma postura epistemológica predominantemente construtivista. Estabelecemos, também, as conexões entre os elementos epistemológicos que aparecem nas obras analisadas e os elementos epistemológicos que aparecem nas obras de outros autores que Schenberg utiliza como referência em seus trabalhos, de modo a estabelecer pontos de referência em relação aos quais indicamos como se transformou sua ideia de teoria física, se afastando das ideias epistemológicas de Pierre Duhem e se aproximando das ideias epistemológicas de Heinrich Hertz. Para além da análise mais interna das obras, utilizamos aspectos da sociologia da ciência de Pierre Bourdieu para procurar compreender como os discursos epistemológicos se relacionam com os contextos científicos para os quais as obras se dirigem e nos quais as ideias se formam, agem e se modificam. Concluímos que a visão de Schenberg a respeito da teoria física se modifica à medida que se modifica o contexto científico no qual Schenberg está inserido, contexto esse em que a hegemonia do regime utilitário de produção e circulação de conhecimento físico, representado pelas escolas politécnicas brasileiras do início do século XX, é colocada em xeque pelo regime disciplinar de produção e circulação de conhecimento físico, representado pelas seções de Física das universidades criadas nos anos 1930. / In this dissertation, we analyze Mario Schenberg\'s epistemological stances in two of his early works - in the article Principles of Mechanics, published in 1934 in Revista Polytechnica, and in his thesis, also entitled Principles of Mechanics, written in 1944. The fact that these works deal with the same subject, and have homologous parts, made it possible to characterize the movements in Mario Schenberg\'s early epistemological stances in the first decade of his life as a student and researcher. The analysis of these works allowed us to characterize a shift in Schenberg\'s epistemological stance, departing from a predominantly inductivist stance towards a predominantly constructivist one. Furthermore, we have established the connections between the epistemological elements that appear in the works of other authors whom Schenberg uses as reference in his own works, so as to establish landmarks in relation to which we show how Schenberg\'s idea of physics theory changed, distancing himself from the epistemological ideas of Pierre Duhem, while moving closer to the ideas of Heinrich Hertz. Besides an internal analysis of the works, we make use of aspects of Pierre Bourdieu\'s sociology of science in order to try to understand how these epistemological discourses are related to the scientific contexts towards which these works are directed, and in which ideas are formed, operate, and are modified. We conclude that Schenberg\'s take on physics theory changes as the scientific context in which he is immerse, a context in which the hegemony of the utilitarian regime of production and circulation of knowledge in physics, represented by the Brazilian polytechnical schools of the early 20th century, is challenged by the disciplinary regimen of production and circulation of knowledge in physics represented by the departments of physics of the universities created in the 1930\'s.

This dissertation examines encounters between humans and snakes from the 1780s to the 1860s, principally focusing upon Britain and British India, to reassess the production and circulation of natural historical knowledge. Serpents were at once familiar and ambiguous in nineteenth-century Britain and its empire, present at every level of society through Scripture, works of natural history, and imperial print culture. They appeared across literary genres - in works of art, as dead specimens in museums, and living attractions in shows and menageries - and their material and figurative presence in London was dependent upon British imperial networks. Snakes loomed disproportionately large in the imperial imaginary, where they were entangled in a discourse of difference. The practices of the natural history of snakes were harnessed to personal ambition and colonial exigencies. By analyzing scientific books and papers, newspapers and periodicals, taxidermy and cartoons, travel accounts, and government archives from Britain and India, this study provides a connected account of how snakes were collected, transported, described, experimented with, and used for a variety of ends. Following an animal around, whether as material, textual, or visual representation, reveals a more comprehensive picture of how people engaged with animals in the nineteenth century, not confined by disciplinary or institutional boundaries at a time when these were being constructed. The cultural and emotive power of snakes makes visible the heterogeneous nature of those contributing to the production of natural historical knowledge. This thesis shows how the moral character of snakes was implicated in how they were encountered and understood by a range of actors, from museum naturalists to imperial agents, and Indian snake-charmers to working-class visitors to the zoo. The chapters examine different but overlapping modes of encounter with snakes: collecting, preserving, and presenting them in museum settings; the imbrication of anthropocentric concerns in attempts to classify and anatomize them; the mechanisms and motivations behind attempts to produce authoritative 'useful knowledge' incorporating vivisectional experiments in the Madras Presidency in the late eighteenth century; Orientalist representations of non-European interactions with snakes in nascent print culture; and the emotional economy of educational displays of living snakes in metropolitan Britain, especially with the emergence of new spaces for natural history, notably the first reptile house at the Zoological Gardens in Regent's Park. The approach brings together insights from from history of science, animal history, and new imperial histories to recover an affective dimension of natural history in imperial encounters.

Neste trabalho apresentamos uma reflexão crítica sobre a formação de pesquisadores em física. Nossas perspectivas são em parte reproduzidas em uma proposta de ensino que é elaborada e analisadas sobre a ótica da obra de Bruno Latour, autor que se situa no campo dos estudos sociais da ciência. Essa proposta foi trabalhada com alunos dos terceiro semestre de Bacharelado em Física do Instituto de Física da Universidade de São Paulo (IFUSP). A intervenção educacional foi inspirada também na problematização do conhecimento segundo a perspectiva dos estudos de Paulo Freire. A proposta tem como eixo central um estudo histórico da relação massa energia, E=mc2. Esse estudo contempla obras de historiadores da ciência e de físicos, e se refere aos períodos pré e pós-relativísticos, além de buscar fazer uma ponte com a história da física nuclear. Um dos nossos objetivos é compreender melhor como a história da ciência pode ser um instrumento para estimular futuros pesquisadores a refletir sobre a prática científica. Como forma de enriquecer a análise e a proposta que fazemos, esse trabalho traz também algumas entrevistas com pesquisadores docentes do IFUSP. As entrevistas e sua análise constituem uma breve investigação sobre a relação entre ensino e pesquisa na universidade e sobre a presença ou não de reflexões sobre a prática e a natureza da ciência por parte destes pesquisadores docentes. Acreditamos que esse tipo de abordagem é importante nos cursos de bacharelado, pois ela pode favorecer a formação de um futuro pesquisador crítico, autônomo e consciente, que reflita sua prática, seus objetivos e os impactos de sua atividade. / The present record contains a critical reflection about research training programs in physics. Our purposes are in some measure supported on a teaching plan developed and analyzed under Bruno Latour\'s ideas, an author immersed in the social studies about science. This proposal was implemented with students of the third period of a physics graduation course of the Institute of Physics of the University of São Paulo. The education intervention was also inspired on Paulo Freire\'s idea of problematization of knowledge. The core of this proposal is a historical analysis about the relation mass-energy, E=mc². This study is based on works of historians of science and physicians and involves the period pre and pos theory of relativity. Furthermore, it intends to establish a relation with the history of nuclear physics. With all this, one of our objectives is to comprehend better how history of science can be a strategy to stimulate future reflections about scientific work by researchers. As a way to enrich this analysis and this proposal, this record also presents some interviews with researchers on physics of the Institute of Physics. The interviews and its analysis constitute a brief examination about the relation between teaching and researching in the university and the presence of considerations about scientific work and the nature of science in the arguments of these researchers. We believe that this kind of approach is important in physics graduation courses, since it can foster the formation of a critical, independent and conscious researcher that ponders over his actions, intentions and the impacts of his activities.

Este estudo aborda algumas das estratégias e ações dos farmacêuticos diplomados em São Paulo no fortalecimento de sua profissão, no período que vai da criação do Serviço Sanitário do Estado em 1892 até a fundação da Universidade de São Paulo em 1934. Foram privilegiados a Sociedade Farmacêutica Paulista, a Escola de Farmácia, Odontologia e Obstetrícia de São Paulo e a Farmacopéia Paulista. Foi também traçado um perfil dos profissionais que atuaram no estado nas primeiras décadas da república, no que diz respeito principalmente a origem e formação, a partir dos dados levantados nos Livros de Registro do Exercício Profissional do Serviço Sanitário. / The purpose of this study was to deal some strategies and actions of pharmacists in strengthening their profession in São Paulo, in a period from Serviço Sanitário do Estado origin (1892) to Universidade de São Paulo foundation (1934). It was discussed Sociedade Farmacêutica Paulista, Escola de Farmácia, Odontologia e Obstetrícia de São Paulo and Farmacopéia Paulista. It aims to drawing the profile of pharmacists whom was registered in São Paulo state, between 1892 and 1933, awarded and the school magazine. pharmacopoeia and were treated to trace a profile of professionals working in the early decades regarding the origin and formation.

As possibilidades de contribuição da história da ciência para o ensino continuam a ser debatidas. Muitos pesquisadores defendem que a história da ciência pode humanizar os conteúdos científicos e relacioná-los aos interesses éticos, culturais e políticos da sociedade. Todavia, é preciso levar em consideração qual história da ciência, e como, deve ser trabalhada no processo de ensino aprendizagem para atingir os objetivos educacionais. Considerando, ainda, a importância que os livros didáticos têm no contexto educacional, este trabalho procurou investigar a presença da história da ciência em seis livros didáticos de química, aprovados pelo Programa Nacional do Livro Didático para o Ensino Médio de 2007 (PNLEM). Foram identificados todos os trechos referentes à história da ciência em cada um dos seis livros didáticos. Em seguida, essas ocorrências foram classificadas e quantificadas. Como resultado, observou-se o predomínio da simples menção a ideias ou descobertas na ciência, em detrimento de descrições mais detalhadas. Assim, em geral, a informação histórica contida nos livros é superficial, raramente permitindo a compreensão da complexidade do processo de construção das ideias. Outro indício nessa direção foi o grande número de menções sugerindo que importantes transformações na ciência foram devidas aos esforços individuais de cientistas. Essa ideia pode contribuir para uma visão equivocada da ciência, segundo a qual o trabalho científico é reservado a uma minoria intelectualmente superior, que vive à margem da sociedade. Também não contribui para modificar essa impressão o fato de que, na maioria das menções, a informação histórica refere-se unicamente ao próprio contexto científico - ou seja, são raras as menções às condicionantes ou influências sociais ou tecnológicas da atividade científica. Observou-se, finalmente, que os autores inserem poucos documentos ou textos originais nos livros didáticos. A inclusão de fontes primárias poderia propiciar discussões mais aprofundadas sobre a elaboração da ciência. Assim, os resultados obtidos sugerem que a história da ciência, da maneira como é apresentada nos livros didáticos, não contribui para que sejam atingidos os objetivos educacionais preconizados por diversos documentos, entre eles o próprio edital do PNLEM. Os livros necessitariam incorporar, em seu discurso relativo à história da ciência, formas que favorecessem a compreensão da ciência como um empreendimento humano e coletivo, sujeito a críticas, e que interage com o meio social. A abordagem de determinados episódios da história com maior riqueza de detalhes, através de estudos de caso que possibilitassem discussões mais profundas, seria mais profícua que a simples menção a um grande número de personagens, fatos e ideias. / Possible contributions from the history of science to science education continue to be discussed. Researchers argue that the history of science may humanize scientific contents, and relate them to ethical, cultural and political issues. However, one has to consider what, and how, history of science is to be used in didactic contexts to achieve current educational goals. Considering textbooks\' important role in the educational process, this work investigates the presence of the history of science in the six chemistry textbooks approved by the Brazilian Program for High School Textbooks (PNLEM 2007). All references to the history of science in these books were identified, categorized and quantified. It was observed that the majority of instances are of simple mentions to scientific discoveries or ideas, rather than more detailed descriptions. In general, the historical content is superficial and do not deal with the complexity of the construction of scientific ideas. Main changes in science are often attributed to the efforts of a single scientist. Such approach may contribute to the misconception that the scientific career is only for an \"intellectually-gifted\" minority working in an ivory tower. Moreover, such idea may be reinforced by the fact that most of the historical references in the textbooks comprise the scientific context only. References to social and technological contexts are scarce. Citations of primary sources, or of up-to-date secondary sources in the history of science, are almost absent. Primary sources could be a rich material for deeper discussions on the construction of scientific knowledge. Results suggest that the history of science presented by the textbooks does not help to achieve contemporary educational goals. Textbooks need to incorporate ways to promote the understanding of science as a collective, human enterprise, which influences (and is influenced by) its social environment, and which is subject to constant criticism. The detailed discussion of selected episodes of the history of science would be more fruitful for science education than the mere mention to a large number of characters, events and ideas.

This dissertation is an analysis of the professionalization tactics of white, native-born, Protestant, middle-class women who served with the U.S. armed forces as dietitians during World War I. Through the overlapping rubrics of maternalism, citizenship, and professionalism, I examine the ways in which dominant race, class, and gender ideologies inflected their quest for professionalization. I specifically examine the way hospital dietitians infused their expertise with rhetoric of race betterment and national security to acquire distinct status and authority in relation to other female medical/health practitioners. In this study, I locate the ideological origins of Public Law 36, 80 th Congress, establishing the U.S. Women's Medical Specialist Corps, within the cultural sensibilities of American antebellum evangelical health reform movements. Public Law 80-36 (April 16, 1947) authorized Regular Army commissions for dietitians, physical therapists, and occupational therapists. I contend that dietetics, a central force in the rise of the home economics movement, also served as an important portal for women's access to higher education in science and medicine. Finally, I hold that military service was critical to the professionalization of women's labor and claims to citizenship in early twentieth century America. In other words, military service allowed native-born, Protestant, middle- and upper-class, white American women to mobilize, network, and expand the scope of their work, as well as leaven their access to professional resources and political power.

This study was undertaken with the idea of bringing together information concerning some of the most important Kentuckians who have made contributions to the biological sciences. In order that we may better understand and appreciate the work done by these men, it was thought best to give a brief discussion of the major periods in the history of biological development. An attempt will be made to interpret the contributions of the men discussed, according to the period in which they lived. Only a sufficient number of men are discussed in each epoch to give a correct picture of the trends of that period.

This thesis presents an account of a prominent eighteenth-century European naturalist, Peter Pallas (1741-1811), in the setting to which he contributed his scientific talents—the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. A complete outline of Pallas' life is presented for purposes of continuity, but the heart of the thesis is presented in chapters four and five, which combined, relate the major features of Pallas' career in Russia. These two chapters are set against pertinent background material, most of which is involved with the institution itself which supported Pallas. The St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences is surveyed in its origin and development in the eighteenth century and material is presented which will outline the ups and downs of the development of academic life in Russia as well as the general milieu in which Pallas fitted. This milieu, it has been concluded, was one of lively and relatively unfettered advance in the development of science in Russia, to which Pallas contributed a great deal of stimulus by way of his widely known and respected accomplishments. The focal point of Pallas' career is represented by his Siberian expedition of 1768-1774, a momentous six-year scientific enterprise to which a central part of the research has been directed. The account of the Pallas Expedition presented here is entirely original, utilizing chiefly his own travel account and the Proceedings (Protokoly) of the Academy, from which source, in the absence of archival materials, can be gained the general content of Pallas' communications to the Academy during his absence. To add perspective, the Pallas Expedition has been set against the historical and contemporary background of Russian scientific exploration in the eighteenth century. An appendix has also been included which lists the Russian-sponsored eighteenth-century scientific expeditions. The follow-up to Pallas' expedition--the remainder of his career in St. Petersburg--is equally a central part of the study. As an academician in St. Petersburg from 1774 to 1793, Pallas was a luminary of European natural science as well as a pillar of scientific achievement in Russia. In historical terms and seen against the background of the Academy of which he was a part, Pallas’ scholarly contributions in Russia have been outlined, most of which can be explained as a consequence of his expedition. A wide selection of available secondary material has been utilized to explain Pallas’ academic career supplemented by some original research supplemented by some original research (chiefly from the Academy Proceedings) and the opportunity I have had to see and scan most of his major publications pertaining to zoology and botany, the major fields to which he contributed. Although of German background, Pallas spent most of his adult life in Russia (1767-1810). His career there forms one of the highlights of foreign scientific expeditionary achievement during the century that Russia relied almost exclusively on foreigners to establish the serious beginnings of both. His contributions--expeditionary and academically in the realm of biology--for obvious reasons are more closely connected to the Russian arena; perhaps for that reason he has failed to attract deserved notice alongside the eighteenth-century European naturalists who are now more popularly known. This thesis attempts no more than to account historically for the career of Peter Simon Pallas in Russia and to present his remarkable accomplishments. A categorized, partially annotated bibliography is appended, preceded by a bibliographic explanation.

This study discusses the social space occupied by tuberculosis during the late eighteenth and first half of the nineteenth century, as well as its reciprocal impact on both the individual and the social body. It focuses on the radical changes in the perception of the disease between 1780 and 1850 and how they fit with the shifting concepts of disease causation. These changes allowed tuberculosis to become tightly bound with contemporary concepts of beauty, which were prominent in the fashions of the day. The rise of 'civilized' nervous diseases and the elevation of sensibility were entwined with hereditary explanations of consumption to advance it as a disease signifying sophistication in the upper reaches of society. Consequently, there was an explanative split along class lines. Tuberculosis was seen as a product of vice and filth among the lower classes of society and as a sign of refinement and attractiveness among the middle and upper classes. The mythology surrounding the disease continued to draw on earlier notions that associated tuberculosis with a good and easy death, but these concepts were refashioned with the aid of evangelical Christianity, Romantic rhetoric, and sentimental doctrine. As a result of this co-mingling, consumption provided an avenue for the elevation of the respectable woman both spiritually and aesthetically. The physical manifestations of tuberculosis, its chronic nature, and the widespread belief in its incurability also contributed to linking the disease to contemporary concepts of beauty. Through a detailed analysis of social trends, medical advice, and fashionable culture---revealed in medical works, periodicals, literature, and personal papers---I reveal the intimate relationships between fashionable women's clothing, female roles, beauty, and illness in Britain in this period / acase@tulane.edu