O/A negro/a nos livros didáticos de ciências da natureza: (re)enxergando as representações negras pelas lentes da decolonialidade

Abstract

This dissertation aimed to problematize the ways of representing Africans, Afro-Brazilians, White people and their interactions with Black individuals in textual and imagery content of the Natural Science Textbooks (LDCN) approved by the National Book and Textbook Program (PNLD) of 2021, based on contributions from decolonial epistemology. To achieve this, a documentary analysis was conducted on two LDCN collections designed for high schools, that were approved by PNLD 2021 and most used among state schools in Aracaju/SE. The research adopted a qualitative methodological approach, with a descriptive-explanatory character based on a decolonial theoretical-methodological perspective. The analysis of the LDCN collections was conducted to identify and describe whether the physical, social, historical and cultural aspects of Africans and Afro-Brazilians are represented – and how this occurs – in texts (main and complementary) and exercises of Biology, in images, as well as in guidelines, suggestions and comments present in the teacher’s manuals. The analysis also aimed to identify how White people are represented and what kind of Biology is being constructed by these LDCN based on the statements produced by them. By undertaking a more nuanced examination of the constructed representations, it was possible to observe a scenario of heterogeneity among the analyzed collections: they oscillate between advances and setbacks. To carry out this analysis, that had the purpose of revealing what often appears to be microscopic and imperceptible, we used the lenses of decoloniality. Thus, drawing from the contributions of authors such as Lugones (2020), Quijano (2005), hooks (2019b), Kilomba (2019), Gonzalez (2020), Oyěwùmí (2004), Grosfoguel (2016), Maldonado-Torres (2007), and Walsh (2009b), we were able to see the "unseen": the manifestation of five types of coloniality amid the statements and representations constructed by the LDCN. Therefore, it was possible to unveil homogenizing, stereotyping, and standardizing movements that silence and omit the different possibilities of being, expressing yourself and interacting with other people to maintain a status quo that still White individuals at the center of narratives. We identified that the scientific discourses produced in Biology play a decisive role in this process. On the other hand, discussions, problematizations, and reflections that intertwine scientific-biological knowledge with themes related to ethnic-racial diversity were found, as well as representations of Black people that may favor the attribution of positive meanings to their characteristics, cultural manifestations and histories, promoting appreciation of the self-image of black students due to the presentation of Black characteristics as desirable. These advances are directly related to the curricular and educational (re)configurations promoted by Laws 10,639/03 and 11,645/08, as well as other correlated legal contents. Furthermore, we emphasize that the discussions raised in this research were not intended to criticize the textbooks regarding their quality or to make demands, but to provoke tensions that guide (us) toward a joint liberation.