ETHNIC-RACIAL DEBATE IN GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION: A REFLECTION BASED ON THE WORK “THE SAD END OF POLICARPO QUARESMA” BY LIMA BARRETO

Abstract

Geography has long dedicated space to art, especially literature. By analyzing a literary artistic work, it is possible to understand spatiality and geographicity as elements present in any narrative or cultural manifestation. Based on this context, this study aims to reflect on and present how we can think of a decolonial Geography through the racial debate in Lima Barreto’s “Triste fim de Policarpo Quaresma” (1915). Furthermore, it seeks to explore possibilities for using didactic-pedagogical strategies focused on ethnic-racial themes by employing the film adaptation of the book and the creation of parodies. Methodologically, a qualitative approach and an exploratory method of the work in question were chosen. The results show that the work sensitively portrays the trajectory and experiences of Black people, depicting the thin line between the negative memory of what was done to Black people and the deconstruction of this subject under such dark images, which allows for a multifaceted representation. Therefore, incorporating this type of tool in Geography classes through the development of pedagogical proposals such as parodies can be one way to overcome the negative and stereotyped representation of Black people still present in various contexts.