Emília Snethlage e Heloísa Alberto Torres: gênero, ciência e turismo na Amazônia do século XX

Abstract

The presence of women in the history of science, especially in the Western world, is intertwined with the very constitution of this field of knowledge, but for a long time they have remained in the shadows of male performance. The historical science, since its birth, has marked the "man" as the central character of the narratives and, even though some scholars pointed out that women were included in this historical being, the disciplinary field of history kept them away from the stage of mankind's sociocultural formation. Scientific travel, from the 19th century on, proved to be a rich path to problematize this vision and the meanings of its silences, allowing interpretative connections between science, gender, and tourism. The history of female participation in the history of sciences in the Amazon in the 20th century, focusing on the performance and legacy of two women scientists, one German and one Brazilian, Emília Snethlage (1868-1929) from the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi - MPEG and Heloísa Alberto Torres (1895-1977) from the Museu Nacional do Rio de Janeiro - MNRJ, is the central theme of this thesis. These scientists, who lived experiences in regions of Brazil, especially in the Amazon, used tactics to build an important path in their fields of expertise in the natural sciences (ornithology) and humanities (anthropology). Their expeditions left important clues for the investigation of the history of tourism in the region, by presenting elements that made up the modern tourist phenomenon, such as lodging, food, and transportation. From this contextualization, the objective of this work was to investigate, in the light of studies on the history of science, gender and tourism, the female participation played, in particular, by Emília Snethlage and Heloísa Alberto Torres, in the construction of scientific knowledge in the Amazon in the early twentieth century, entering into their professional trajectories, strategies and their respective universes. In relation to the problematic, the question was asked about the importance of the role of women in the history of science in Brazil and how was the specific participation of these scientists in the Amazon? The research was based on Edward P. Thompson with Social History and his reflections on experience and tactics in everyday life; Carlo Ginzburg with Micro-History when entering in the indications of other paths taken by them; Michelle Perrot, Londa Schiebinger and Anne McClintock when referencing the role of women in the scientific field, helping to inquire forms of coloniality experienced in the daily life and work of Emília and Heloisa. As far as tourism studies are concerned, we dialogued with Paulo de Assunção, Alexandre Panosso Netto, and Helena Doris. A. B. Quaresma when dealing with the reflection of the tourist phenomenon and its openings in history and research in the Amazon. The methodological path traced clues of the performance of these women of science in the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Guilherme de La Penha Archives. Files on Emília Snethlage were also searched in virtual media at the Biblioteca Nacional Digital and at the Museu de Astronomia e Ciências Afins, where a collection on Heloísa Alberto Torres was found. The documentary research started in 2018 and went on until mid-2022, mainly by virtual environment, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. To answer the problematic of the thesis, the research mapped and analyzed evidence in newspapers, articles produced by these scientists, personal and institutional letters, and novels, which made visible experiences and practices of these scientists in their institutions and in the daily life of research in the Amazon. Based on these findings, the thesis demonstrates that Emília and Heloísa played a fundamental role in the construction of science in the Amazon, through their actions and "world sensibilities", at a time of full hegemony of male domination in the scientific field. These women built their trajectories in ornithology and anthropology in such a way that their publications and scientific achievements spread beyond their institutions, making their mark in the history of science in Brazil and abroad. Furthermore, the trips have revealed new directions for understanding the tourist phenomenon in the Amazon region, since they have used the constituent elements of the practice in the activity. Thus, they contributed to think the emergence of a new epistemology about tourist trips.