A carregar...
Projeto de investigação
Laboratory for Sustainable Land Use and Ecosystem Services
Financiador
Autores
Publicações
Beyond the binary: from probable to plausible futures in dense green urbanism
Publication . Vidal, Diogo Guedes
This article posits that the tension between density and greening is an ontopoliticalchallenge (Blaser, 2013; Cadena, 2015). Ontopolitics differs from the sociology ofimagination in that it does not primarily concern how futures are envisioned, but howrealities are constituted (Blaser, 2010). While urban political ecology interrogates thepolitical-economic production of socio-natures (Swyngedouw and Heynen, 2003), it oftenretains a shared ontology of “nature” and “society” as analytical categories. An ontopoliticalapproach instead foregrounds conflicts over the very existence and status of entities withinurban governance, asking not merely who controls green space, but whether green space isunderstood as infrastructure, commons, habitat, or political subject. This ontological shifthas material consequences for planning instruments, institutional design, and regulatoryframeworks. The challenge, therefore, is not simply to insert plants into high-rises, which isa practice that often devolves into “greenwashing,” but mostly to fundamentally reconfigureour relationship with the biosphere. We must shift from a paradigm of domination andmanagement to one of cohabitation and resonance (Rosa, 2021), and in doing so, movefrom merely “probable” futures to genuinely transformative “possible” ones.
Science & natural history museums for critical scientific literacy and social change: a critical perspective on where we are now and ways forward
Publication . Diogo, Lídia; Alves, Fátima; Vidal, Diogo Guedes; Sayão, Juliana Manso; Chova, Luis Gómez; Martínez, Chelo González; Lees, Joanna
The escalating ecological emergency unfolds at a time when multiple social pressures are weakening the role of science in public decision-making: deepening inequalities, the systematic spread of misinformation, threats to press freedom, and the resurgence of nationalist and militarised agendas. In this context, Science & Natural History Museums (SNHMs) cannot confine themselves to traditional functions of scientific mediation. Many institutions already acknowledge the need to strengthen their commitment to scientific and environmental literacy, as well as to broader socio-ecological responsibility. Yet the scale and urgency of the crisis demand a far more profound transformation. Still, worldwide, SNHMs continue to operate within technocratic paradigms and enduring colonial legacies that significantly curtail their capacity for social transformation. Embracing critical museology remains limited by institutional inertia and political pressures. Scholars and institutions advocate for integrated frameworks to guide museums in advancing socio-ecological justice but acknowledge that a fully unified roadmap is still missing to help them evolve into inclusive and critical institutions.
We aim to contribute by identifying the most needed changes in SNHMs´ curatorial and educational practices. We start by mapping key limits constraining the full embrace of critical museology practices, and we illustrate how SNHMs can act as unique intercultural research spaces that connect diverse knowledge holders while fostering collaborative dialogue and action-oriented transformative learning. We conducted a qualitative, systematic, and critical literature review spanning the past two decades, focusing on critical pedagogy, scientific literacy, environmental education, and museum education. The review covered conceptual frameworks, key debates, and international normative instruments, drawing on specialised journals in museum studies, science education, and sustainability.
Our findings show that reimagining the role of SNHMs depends on a consistent integration of critical, emancipatory approaches to science and environmental education within museum practices. Recent shifts in scientific literacy towards more political, transdisciplinary, and justice-oriented perspectives offer a strong foundation. However, major challenges remain: explicitly recognising the political, economic, cultural, and ethical dimensions that shape power dynamics within educational processes, and advancing towards genuine shared authority with communities in research, programme development, and exhibition design. SNHMs must transcend traditional roles and become agents of social and environmental justice. This entails promoting scientific and environmental literacies that address ethical and political tensions; integrating emotional, relational, and ethical dimensions into exhibitions; and fostering collaborative, situated, and civically engaged learning practices. Such transformation demands stronger alliances between research, education, and public policy, and requires accepting that complexity – and the resistance it provokes – is inherent to any meaningful transformative educational process.
Unidades organizacionais
Descrição
Palavras-chave
Sustainable Land products and services,Circular economy in Land products processing,Socioecological systems and territories,Environmental health, Agricultural sciences
Contribuidores
Financiadores
Entidade financiadora
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P.
Programa de financiamento
Concurso para Atribuição do Estatuto e Financiamento de Laboratórios Associados (LA)
Número da atribuição
LA/P/0092/2020