CIRCULATION AND DISSEMINATION OF SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE: journal Revista Nacional de Educação of Brazil’s National Museum (1932-1934)

Abstract

TThe 1930s were significant for Brazilian education, marked by the continuity of reforms in Public Education, the dissemination of the ideals of Escola Nova, National Education Conferences and the publication of the Manifesto of Pioneers of Educação Nova. This article, located in the field of social history of science, analyzes the relationship between the circulation of scientific knowledge, popular education and the use of images in the Revista Nacional de Educação (RNE). It was created in 1932 and described by its creator, Edgard Roquette-Pinto, as “the first strictly popular educational gesture practiced by the Republic”. It is shown by historiography that various media were used to promote science, such as conferences, texts, magazines, exhibitions, films and radio programs, however, our look turned to the Revista Nacional de Educação and the strategy to make it an element of building national identity and popularizing knowledge. All twenty-one issues of the magazine were read, deposited in the Central Library of the National Museum; the articles were grouped by subject, observing the continuity in new issues, those that were part of a section of the magazine or written by the same author, and crossed with other sources, such as decrees, reports and other documents from the National Museum. It was concluded that the journal was an important link between intellectuals and society, however, it should not be considered in isolation, but linked to other channels of scientific dissemination, such as radio programs and cinema.