Literary readers communities of learning: identity, culture and memory
Literacy, Literature and Culture. Literary Projects. Communities of Readers. Empowerment Research.
The scholarization of Literature sometimes priviledged the emphasis on literary theory’s characterization, sometimes supported the art for art’s sake movement, sometimes limited the teaching to the study of literary genres with focus on the teacher.Approaches of such nature do not emphasize students’ cultural universe and specific identities. Therefore, this thesis aims to analyse reading practices and production of literary texts, considering 31 collaborators’ cultural universes, people who are students and former students of Portuguese and Literarute at IFRN’s Nova Cruz, Macau and Sao Goncalo do Amarante campuses, on the context of the “Promoting Readings, Gaining Readers” (PRGR) literacy project. To achieve this goal, it was investigated how the reading and writing practices that were developed in the PRGR literacy project can build a community of readers in which students’ cultural universes are valued, turning them into literacy agents, with the purpose of (i) exploring the literacy practices carried out in the “Promoting Readings, Gaining Readers” (PRGR) literacy project; (ii) discuss the actions that were developed in schools to create a community of readers with focus on students’ cultural universe; (iii) determine the PRGR literacy project’s impact towards the development of a reader and writer’s identity in 31 collaborators, who are students and former students of Portuguese and Literarute at IFRN’s Nova Cruz, Macau and Sao Goncalo do Amarante campuses.This study is based on the following theories: literacy studies (KLEIMAN, 1995; STREET, 2014), specifically on the Multiple Literacy theory (OLIVEIRA; KLEIMAN, 2008), Literacy Projects (OLIVEIRA, 2008, 2010a; OLIVEIRA, TINOCO e SANTOS, 2011), Communities of Learning (OLIVEIRA, 2010b) and Silenced Literacy (KEY, 1998). It is also based on the literary text’s theories (COMPAGNON, 2009; TODOROV, 2009; DERRIDA, 2014, EAGLETON, 2010; ABREU, 2006; LAJOLO, 2001; COELHO, 2000; BOURDIEU, 1996) and on the Collective Memories’ theories (HALBWACHS, 2006 e BOSI, 2003); Culture (WILLIAMS, 2011A e 2011B e CERTEAU, 2014) and Identity (BAUMAN, 2005, 2013; FOUCALT, 2014 e 2015; PETIT, 2009A, 2009B, 2013, HALL, 2011 e LAHIRE, 2002).Methodologically, this study, which has an etnographic nature (STREET, 2014; THOMAS, 1993; CANÇADO, 1994; MAGALHÃES, 1994; MOITA LOPES, 1993; AGAR 2005), is situated in the Critical Applied Linguistics field (KLEIMAN, 2013; MOITA LOPES, 2006 e PENNYCOOK, 2006) and adopts the qualitative approach (BAUER e GASKELL, 2002; FLICK, 2004; BIBBS, 2009), focusing on the Straightening Research (OLIVEIRA, 2004). The data analysis allowed the demonstration that (i) the collaborators’ relationship with literary reading surpasses the limits of formal scholarization; (ii) the literary text is part of the collaborators’ lives and is not restrained to the school environment; (iii) the literary text can contribute to the development of alternative communities of readers and writers’ identities; (iv) the reading practices, experienced during the course of the project, are life-changing.