Epistolary correspondence of the neurophysiologist Miguel Rolando Covian

An archive preserved for the History of Science

Abstract

This article reports a labor of organization, aiming at the preservation of the epistolary correspondence of neurophysiologist Miguel Rolando Covian, with the objective of highlighting this kind of sources as historical documents. Epistolary correspondences carry contents of intimate and personal nature, which entail ethical issues that place them under legal protection for a specified period of time. Thus, caring for the preservation of these documents is a fundamental requirement, even during the legal restricted access period, since these are original primary sources. Miguel Rolando Covian was an Argentine neurophysiologist who arrived in Brazil in 1955 to take over the then newly created Department of Physiology of the Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto. Heading this Department, he elevated it to a level of national and international recognition, a center of excellence in research in Brazil and worldwide. Cultivated and deeply knowledgeable in philosophy, Covian used to communicate with friends and scientists from various regions of the world. Covian’s epistolary correspondence presents numerous research possibilities in the historical field. However, because he was a scientist, a greater focus can be assigned to the History of Science, especially the History of Medicine, Biology, Psychology and Neurophysiology.