A fauna do Novo Mundo e o dealbar da alimentação científica na Europa

As preocupações médicas com o equilíbrio alimentar remontam à Antiguidade, mas apenas a partir do século XVII o assunto começou a ser questionado de modo mais científico e preciso. Dois médicos holandeses de renome, Luís Nunes (1553-1645) e Willem Piso (1611-1678), estudaram esta questão e legaram-nos tratados de inquestionável relevância historiográfica. Destacamos, em particular, Ichtyophagia sive de piscium esu commentarius (“Ictiofagia ou comentário sobre uma alimentação piscívora”, Antuérpia, 1616) e De Indiae utriusque re naturali et medica. Libri quatuordecim (“Sobre a Índia e sua história natural e médica”, Amesterdão, 1658). A defesa de uma dieta que inclua o consumo de peixe é transversal aos dois textos, pois ambos fundam um discurso inaugural em defesa de hábitos alimentares equilibrados numa época de profundas mudanças históricas e culturais impostas pelo contacto com as realidades do exótico Novo Mundo. Esta influência é sobretudo evidente na obra de Piso, especialmente nas suas descrições de espécies de peixes endémicas do Brasil.

Anthropology of Violence. The case of the Algarve, Portugal, 19th century

This is the text of the lecture given in the University of Vienna, 29th October 2009

Communicating culture: strategic communication management of the contemporary art museums in the XXIth century, in Portugal: case studies: Museu Nacional de Arte Contemporânea: Lisboa; Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Serralves, no Porto; Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Elvas

Throughout the year and half of research developed during the times of crisis or economic crisis in Portugal due to the austerity measures, this thesis focuses on the cultural communication and museology in the area of cultural management in Portugal. With an ever growing number of research being developed over the world, this study is unique as it studies managerial diversity and organisational structures of Contemporary Art Museums that exist in Portugal but more importantly how they communicate their organizations within and beyond the Museum walls such as online or other technological media. As the communication management of the museums is one of aspects of culture in which cultural management intends to intervene. The research study that I proposed to analyse has at the forefront the intention to understand how the Contemporary Art Museums in Portugal manage their communication and respective organizations, whether they be a Public-Private/Foundation, State or Council run organizations but also understand if a strategic plan is designed and implemented in times of crisis, to withstand disruptive economic scenarios projected on a daily basis. The following Museums were selected due to the fact of being Contemporary Art Museums but also their respective diverse territorial distribution, one in the city capital of Portugal, Lisbon: MNAC – Museu Nacional de Arte Contemporânea, a stately run organisation; the second, in the north of Portugal: MACS – Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Serralves, a public/private organisation under the Foundation organics and the third Museum in interior central region of Portugal, Alentejo: MACE – Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Elvas, managed by the Elvas City Council.