NOTES ON EPISTEMIC CURIOSITY AND IMAGINATION IN EDUCATION OF THE GEOGRAPHER

Abstract

In this article we intend to demonstrate the importance of two fundamental concepts for Geography, which although applied as a common routine in many academic researches, end up rarely being used for learning in the field of Geography. As the discussion about the role of curiosity and imagination (and their genesis) in the student learning process in Geography are topics that are still little studied by researchers, this article aims to be part of an initial effort to ensure the guidelines for further application of studies of this nature. For this we analyze the role that epistemic curiosity (capacity or personality trait oriented towards discovery and learning) and the development of imagination, from examples of research and researchers inside and outside the field of Geography in order to understand how these phenomena can be framed and stimulated in students in higher education. Then we approach the theme of imagination and its uses for cultural openness and for creating a learning environment based on the ideas of philosophers John Kekes (1995) and John Paul Lederich (2011). Throughout the text we bring examples that can be applied in teaching, based on themes covered in Cultural Geography. This work has an initial theoretical and exploratory nature, so it does not work with empirical evidence, but it is expected that the article will also contribute and encourage future research on these themes and their developments.