Epistemological Circle Epistemological Circle in Information Science through University Extension

Abstract

Faced with the great possibility of accessing communities farther from universities, such as communities in situations of social vulnerability, university extension is essential in the emancipation of subjects. Held in a space outside the university, the extension runs through a participatory methodology where the appropriation of information and the sharing of knowledge happen between the subjects involved, both from the university and the community. Thus, this report presents the experience with the Epistemological Circle, based on the Freirian Culture Circle, used in research on the social relevance of the Cibercidadania Program, from CIN/UFSC. The purpose of this report is to reflect on the importance of the Epistemological Circle in scientific research approaches carried out through university extension within impoverished communities. The methodology used in data collection was the Epistemological Circle, through interviews with a semi-structured questionnaire. The informational data collected were fundamental in identifying the social relevance and production of knowledge through the Program, confirming that scientific work has dialogue in its essence and permeates the answers found through new questions, mobilizing awareness. It was concluded that in a real context and with a democratic practice built collectively with an emancipatory bias and involvement of the subjects in the processes of the actions developed, the experience of the Epistemological Circle in collecting data through interviews, provides significant impacts to society and the reduction of social inequality.