Music as a methodology for teaching the Military Dictatorship in Brazil.

Abstract

The work is in progress, but it aims to investigate the use of music as an active methodology in the classroom, addressing the Military Dictatorship in Brazil (1964–1985) as the main topic. I seek to highlight ways to reframe the use of music in the classroom as something beyond illustrative or playful, and instead as a historical source that allows students to understand complex sociopolitical contexts through sensitive and subjective narratives, helping in the construction of historical consciousness and the development of historical empathy in students. The theoretical foundation is based on the concepts of historical consciousness (Jörn Rüsen, 2001), historical empathy (Peter Lee and Rosalyn Ashby, 2001), and on the cultural production of the period (Marcos Napolitano, 2014). The methodology adopted is a qualitative content analysis of four dissertations found in ProfHistória, selected based on an approach that directly addresses the relationship between music, history teaching, and the military dictatorship. These are analyzed through the adopted theoretical foundations, the proposed pedagogical application strategies, and the emblematic songs examined with the goal of historical learning in different basic education classes. Based on the presented dissertations, I also propose the development of a class that aims to facilitate the application by teachers in the classroom, comparing and simplifying the methods, contributing to the qualification of teaching practice on a fundamental period of Brazil’s recent history.