The contributions of Boris Kossoy’s iconography and Erwin Panofsky’s iconology to the History of Education survey

Abstract

The analysis of photography as a document falls within the field of Social History and the History of Mentalities. The article situates the importance of the iconographical sources in the context of the research in the History of Education. Iconography does not rival nor deny other sources, however articulate itself with them, providing unpublished information, which is not always found in classical documents. The text brings along the methodological discussion about the use of photography in the historiographic research.  It also moves to alignment two analysis of photograph perspectives: Boris Kossoy’s iconography and Erwin Panofsky’s iconology, in dialogue with the conceptions of Ana Maria Mauad, Solange Ferraz de Lima, Vânia Carneiro de Carvalho and Ulpiano Toledo Bezerra de Meneses. Together, iconography and iconology open new spectra of approach, analysis, and interpretation of history, contributing to the deciphering of imagetic content. The two techniques aim to contributing with the image content decoding. Photographs are not allegorical resources. They carry symbolisms, representations, and meanings that cannot be disregarded by the historiography of education. It is not about the images quantitative enrolled in the survey that bestow the research attributes, but the interpretative endeavor of the researcher in the quest for historical phenomenon casual link which can be found in the photographic artifact.