The World in a Drop of Water: Carraud's Science Literature for Children
2002; University of Nebraska Press; Volume: 27; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/frf.2003.0003
ISSN1534-1836
Autores Tópico(s)Rousseau and Enlightenment Thought
ResumoAn old woman leans against a windowsill and guides her granddaughter in the study of a fly and its life cycle. A father teaches his children to examine wasps and waterflowers. These illustrations come from Zulma Carraud's Les Métamorphoses d'une goutte d'eau (1864), a collection of stories that focus on various aspects of nature study. 1 Published by Hachette in La Bibliothèque rose illustrée, a collection aimed at readers from eight to fourteen, the text presents concepts of metamorphosis and the conservation of matter, describes asexualized life cycles of insects and animals, and models the use of dialogue and a hands-on method of instruction for children. The stories and the etchings that support them depict a kind of "familiar" or "familial" scientific study common in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and which engaged children in close observation of accessible natural phenomenon. Based greatly on the pedagogical theories of Rousseau, such study promoted observation, reasoning and an awareness of the practical uses of natural products to better human life. Women played a significant role in this popularizing of knowledge for other women and children although they were excluded from the increasing professionalism of scientific research. 2
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