Resumen de A stroboscopic picture of European science attractive institutions in the thirties and forties: Following Portuguese grant holders
Emília Vaz Gomes, Augusto José dos Santos Fitas, María Fátima Nunes
To understand the circulation of scientific knowledge and scientists in Europe in the 20th century it is essential to identify the institutions that attracted foreign scientists to all kinds of training. To construct such broad picture it would be compulsory to study the dissemination of scientific culture over Europe. To accomplish this, it would be necessary to assemble as many information as possible about specific institutions and scientists.
There are several analyses on the development of science, in particular European institutions and in specific disciplines, that referred the passage of foreign scientists to those places, as in Paris. However, this is not the main goal of the authors. Some work has been made on the history of Foundations where grants attributed can be studied, as for example the Rockefeller Institution. The institutions that manage and promote national science were also studied, and these played the principal role sending apprentices abroad. This is the case of the Spanish JAE, Junta de Ampliación de Estudios.
Currently, we study the Portuguese scientific apprentices in Europe and pretend to contribute to picture the scientific attractive institutions in the thirties and forties. We intend to show that, through time, there were geographical changes on those institutions at a particular discipline. We want to underline several factors influencing the selection of destinations and how these factors conditioned the circulation of scientists. The success, renown and visibility of an institution or scientist act together as a factor, but they are not by far the only one. In the Portuguese case we can identify other factors on different levels: the country’s characteristics or constraints, the national institutions to where apprentices were connected, and the orientation of particular characters. However, besides all these factors we want to enhance the leading role of JEN (Portuguese Board of National Education) promoting scientific apprenticeships in Europe.
