Ester Nelly Abuter Ananías - Fachbereich Philosophie und ...

Miriam Junghans ( Fiocruz Casa de Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil )
Going Th rough an ‘In-Between Place’ : Emilie Snethlage’s Crossing Xingu-
Tapajós in 1909
In the social history of science, debates on the science produced out of North
Atlantic countries in the beginning of the twentieth century are oft en trapped in the
dichotomy of nucleus and periphery. Recent historical literature has att empted to get
away from this polarization. Taking into consideration that scientifi c production is
a specifi c form of cultural expression, we have developed the present analysis based
on the concept of ‘in-between place’, created by Brazilian literary critic Silviano
Santiago ( 1978 ). According to Santiago, an ‘in-between place’ is a sphere of cultural
production with singular characteristics, which have to be taken into consideration
in order to analyze and understand it. In 1909, German naturalist Emilie Snethlage
( 1868-1929 ), together with just her Indian guides, walked the land between Xingu and
Tapajós rivers, Amazon River tributaries, which, at the time, was a region unknown
to scientists. Graduating in Jena in 1904, Snethlage developed her scientifi c career
in Brazil, in two important Natural History museums, Emílio Goeldi Museum in
Belém do Pará and Museu Nacional in Rio de Janeiro. At a time when the increasing
specialization divided scientists between ‘fi eld’ and ‘offi ce’ scientists, she worked in
both worlds with the same profi ciency. By using Xingu-Tapajós crossing as a case
study, we have used the concept ‘in-between place’, which allowed us to identify some
peculiarities in the scientist’s career and in the kind of science produced in that social
and scientifi c scenario.
Email miriamjung@gmail.com
Section Th eories of Mobility and Travel Literature
Panel 100
Date July 31
Time 16 :45
Location k l 29/208