O processo de criação do Curso de Nutrição(1999-2004) da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG)

Abstract

This work is a historical research, with approach of Oral History, underpinned by oral and written documents collected in several collections and using semi-structured interviews with deponents, previously selected, within the Development of Political-Pedagogical Project Committee to create the Nutrition Course of Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). Given the importance of the aspects related to memory in an Oral History project, the theoretical framework adopted was the Theory of Collective Memory by Halbwachs (2006). The analysis of the documents was made by Critical Discourse Analysis, proposed by Fairclough (2001). Intends to analyze the creation process of the Nutrition Course of UFMG (1999-2004). In 1999, the creation process of the Nutrition Course of UFMG was started. This process was motivated by a series of external and internal factors to UFMG that took place during the 1990s. Among these factors, we should mention the creation of the Brazilian Unified Health System, in 1990, the publication of Law 8234, in 1991, which regulates the profession, the expansion of the graduation in nutrition after the Law of Directives and Bases of Education, in 1996, and the approval of the National Policy on Food and Nutrition, in 1999. All these events mark a period in which the questions about food gain a new approach, inseparable of the aspects related to the populations health, which led to a large expansion of the teaching on nutrition across the country, especially in the private education network. As an internal motivator, there was the inauguration of the reform of the kitchen at the Nutrition and Dietetic Service of the Clinical Hospital of UFMG in June 1999. Thenceforth, a commission composed by people from several academic units of UFMG was formed, and these people were experienced both in teaching and in research, which gave legitimacy to the group. Interested in creating a course that was different and innovative, and that was also in line with the social need for training nutritionists, since the beginning, they thought about a curriculum that would be integrated. In order to seek a more comprehensive training, the generalist was adopted as the professional profile. Nevertheless, mainly after the publication of the National Curriculum Guidelines for the graduation in Nutrition, in 2001, and because of the change in the rectorship of UFMG, in 2002, it was necessary to adapt the original proposal to the bureaucratic conditions. The structure by disciplines was a minimum requirement for the approval of the Political Pedagogical Project, thereby becoming necessary to give hourly load to every part of the knowledge modules. In such a way as to keep the maximum of the original proposal, the disciplines Monitored Practical Activity and Integrative Practical Activity were created, which allowed them to keep the idea of the integration between theory and practice and in relation to the various contents addressed in each semester. Therefore, at the end of four years of work, the Political Pedagogical Project of the Nutrition Course of UFMG was approved and opened up supply of vacancies for its first entrance examination at the end of 2003, receiving its inaugural class in the first semester of 2004.