The works “Cosmos” and “The Ascent of Man” and university physics professors in Brazil

Abstract

In the present study we analyzed the previous contact of the university professors assigned to academic units in the Physics area of the main federal universities in Brazil with the series/books “Cosmos” (with Carl Sagan, of 1980, and with Neil deGrasse Tyson, of 2014) and “The Ascent of Man” (with Jacob Bronowski, of 1973). We also analyzed the perceptions of these professors regarding the relevance of the works for use in Scientific Communication, as well as the influence of the series/books on their professional choices. Our data indicate that Sagan's work was widely disseminated, while Bronowski's was largely unknown; 70\% of respondents had never even heard of Bronowski's work. Most participants considered both editions of “Cosmos” (the original version with Sagan and the reissued version with Tyson) highly relevant for use in Science Communication. On the other hand, most participants preferred not to express an opinion regarding Bronowski's work. Regarding the influence of Sagan's series/book on career choices, almost half of the participants found no correlation, while just over half indicated some influence. In the case of Bronowski's series/book, 80\% of participants found no correlation with their career choices. Finally, we hope this study contributes to a better understanding of the profile of physics professors in the Brazilian universities.