Ideas for thinking
Essays and conceptual texts on media, semiotics, cognition, learning, science, health, technology and culture.
New Humanities for a Technological University: The Emerging Debate in China
Chinese universities are rapidly expanding programs in artificial intelligence, biotechnology and other strategic fields. The debate on “New Humanities” examines how curricula can integrate humanities, social sciences and…
Why does “asking” help more than simply “reviewing”?
Research on retrieval practice shows why actively recalling information can strengthen learning more than simply reviewing material. The text discusses how questioning supports memory, comprehension and the reconstruction…
Cultural Semiotics in Education: The Meaning of the Text from Its Context
Cultural semiotics is presented through the role of context in producing meaning. Rather than treating texts as isolated carriers of universal meanings, the discussion emphasizes the social, historical…
Screens in Education: Balancing Potential and Cognitive Costs
Screens can expand access to content, guided observation and formative feedback, while also reshaping attention, memory and sleep. The text discusses this tension and its implications for learning,…
Biopower Challenges in Contemporary Health Education
Foucault’s concept of biopower is used to examine contemporary health education, asking how institutions, knowledge and training practices participate in the management of life and in the formation…
Between Science and Spectacle: Post-Cinema and the Reinvention of the Scientific Imaginary
Post-cinema and digital media are discussed as forces that reshape the scientific imaginary, expanding access to knowledge while creating risks of simplification and distortion. The text argues for…
Translated Bodies: Hindu Traditions in the Brazilian Public Health System
Hindu practices such as yoga and conscious breathing are examined in relation to Brazil’s public health system, exploring how cultural translation allows traditional practices to enter health care…
Health Education Between Foundations and Futures: Revisiting Galli
Nicholas Galli’s 1976 model of health education is revisited through its sociocultural, psychobehavioral, educational, legal and scientific foundations, highlighting the continuing value of a contextual and multidimensional understanding…
Between Center and Periphery: A Pedagogy of the Boundary Framed by Lotman’s Semiotic Theory
Lotman’s concept of the semiotic boundary is revisited as a framework for education. The text explores how center, periphery and translation organize cultural systems and how these ideas…
Visual Rhetoric and Semiotics: How Images Influence Our Thinking
Visual rhetoric and semiotics are used to examine how images shape perception, emotion and interpretation. The text discusses why understanding visual strategies is essential in a culture saturated…
