Um ambiente, tantas verdades : estudo sociológico dos discursos científicos sobre a represa do Lobo/Broa
Resumo
The emergence of the environmental issues, from the 1960s, represented significant changes
in the way societies perceive the environment, in particular through the process of
politicization of nature. In this sense, the present work understands the modern environmental
issues as a social construction disputed through the production of discourses about the
environment. Thus, it aims to comprehend the production of scientific discourses about
Lobo/Broa dam, as well as its specific effects of power. Lobo/Broa dam, in São Paulo state, is
a small reservoir for hydroelectric energy production, also used for recreation, and as a lab for
research on ecology and hydraulic engineering. The research hypothesis lays on the idea that
scientific discourse about the reservoir’s environment works as “truth”, exerting the effects of
power associated with this condition. The methodology of the research consists in case study
and qualitative methods of social research, including bibliographic and documentary research
and semi-structured interviews.