O ensino de história: possibilidades formativas em Walter Benjamin

Abstract

History is permeated by disputes over meaning, memory, and power, especially in contexts marked by social inequalities, silencing, and the persistence of hegemonic narratives. In this scenario, it becomes necessary to critically rethink the epistemological foundations of History teaching, which are often grounded in linear conceptions guided by the idea of continuous progress and by deterministic perspectives. In this sense, this dissertation analyzes the conception of history elaborated by Walter Benjamin in the Theses on the Concept of History (2020), investigating how his theoretical assumptions can contribute to the construction of critical, ethical, and emancipatory pedagogical practices in History teaching. The research question seeks to understand how the Benjaminian conception of history can ground the teaching of History as a formative practice oriented toward memory, resistance, and the emancipation of subjects. The general objective is to understand History teaching in light of Benjamin’s theses, highlighting their potential to overcome linear and exclusionary narratives. The specific objectives are to examine the critique of historicism and historical determinism; to analyze History teaching as a practice of resistance; and to discuss the categories of dialectics, narration, and experience as formative possibilities in the school context. This study is characterized as bibliographic research, primarily grounded in Walter Benjamin (2020), in dialogue with Michael Löwy (2005, 2020), Jeanne Marie Gagnebin (2009), and Nilo Agostini (2019). As an outcome, a scientific article was developed as an educational product aimed at basic education. It is expected that the study will contribute to the renewal of History teaching and to the formation of critical subjects capable of confronting exclusionary narratives and mobilizing memory as an instrument of social transformation.