December 2020
In the historiographical review section of our latest issue (vol.27 no.4 Rio Oct./Dec. 2020) the article The construction of a tropical country: a review of environmental historiography on Brazil provides an overview of books published on Brazilian environmental history. This historiographic review article was produced with funding from the Wellcome Trust.
CABRAL, Diogo de Carvalho. Na Presença da Floresta:, Mata Atlântica e História Colonial. Rio de Janeiro: Garamond/FAPERJ, 2014. 536pp.
organized the material on the following themes: “Forests;” “Agriculture and livestock raising;” “Biodiversity and extraction of flora and fauna;” “Urban and industrial dynamics;” “Regions, territories and sociodiversity;” “Environmental thinking and environmentalism”.
The article concludes that there is a significant number of texts on the Atlantic Forest and the Amazon Forest, on the other we have a somewhat uncomfortable deficit with respect to other biomes, such as the Pampas and the Caatinga. Overall, we can see that urban and industrial themes are addressed much less frequently than rural and forest themes. It is worth remembering, however,
MILLER, Shawn William. Fruitless. Trees — Portuguese Conservation and Brazil’s Colonial Timber. Stanford, Califórnia, Stanford Uni- versity Press, 2000.
Although some of the books described here have used interviews in their research, an oral history methodology still has much to contribute to environmental history research. We believe that incorporating the narratives of caiçaras (coastal dwellers), quilombolas (descendants of runaway slaves who formed quilombo settlements), indigenous people, small farmers, riparian dwellers, and settlers may be one of the most promising paths for development of the field.
Environmental history in HCS-Manguinhos:
Pádua, José Augusto and Carvalho, Alessandra Izabel de. A construção de um país tropical: uma apresentação da historiografia ambiental sobre o Brasil. Hist. cienc. saude-Manguinhos, Out 2020, vol.27, no.4.
A history of the use of pesticides in Brazil, 1950-2002 This paper presents a history of the use and perception of pesticides in the state of Santa Catarina.
LEONARDI, Victor. Os historiadores e os rios: natureza e ruína na amazônia brasileira. Brasília: EdUnB/Paralelo15, 1999.
Brazilian historiography and the environment This paper discusses the work of the historian Sergio Buarque de Holanda, especially on how human societies and the natural environment have affected one another.
Lady of the sea In this interview to HCSM, the specialist in oceans Helen Rozwadowski talks about her professional trajectory and about the sea as a subject of history.
Planetary Health Histories Climate change, pollution, global warming and Anthropocene are terms that can also be used by historians. This interview with Warwick Anderson and James Dunk, researchers of the history department at the University of Sydney, explains what is Planetary Health.
Climate change, pollution, global warming and Anthropocene are terms that can also be used by historians. This interview with Warwick Anderson and James Dunk, researchers of the history department at the University of Sydney, explains what is Planetary Health.
