ABSTRACT
Ethnobotany is the study of human societies and their relationship with plants. It is an old discipline in practice, but young in theory. Ethnobotanical research has grown perceptibly in the past decade in many parts of the world, especially in Latin America. This growth calls for a broader understanding of the discipline in all its theoretical and methodological diversity. The interdisciplinary nature of ethnobotany also requires a greater academic systematization. This study focuses on the assessment of formal teaching methods of ethnobotany in Brazilian universities. Data were gathered from questionnaires sentover the Internet and filled out by graduate-course coordinators in Brazil, and by members of the Brazilian Ethnobotanical Committee of the Botanical Society of Brazil, and of the Brazilian Society of Ethnobiology and Ethnoecology. Thirteen Brazilian universities offer Ethnobotany as a specific discipline and in 27 other institutions, Ethnobotany is included as a topic in other disciplines. In both cases, these courses are generally offered by universities in Northeastern and Southeastern Brazil. The study included an evaluation of the contents as well as of references used in the courses. The data showed a strong tendency for growth of formal teaching of Ethnobotany in Brasil at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Key-words:
Teaching of ethnobotany; university level; Brazil