MEMÓRIA SOCIAL, IDENTIDADE E NARRATIVA: AS HISTÓRIAS DE VIDA CONTADAS POR MORADORES DE NITERÓI

Abstract

This article aims to investigate how some people from Niteroi create meaning for their experiences, through the narrative of life stories. The qualitative field research utilized interview-talks as methodological resource. Five residents of Niterói, a city located in the Metropolitan Region of Rio de Janeiro, three women and two men, between 49 and 81 years of age, were interviewed. Issues such as family relations, violation of rights, nostalgia and changes in the city of Niterói emerged with more evidence. Mnemonic narratives can be considered important constitutions of stories of individuals who are often not heard from a socio-political point of view. In modern society, both the figure of the listener - who lends wealth to the stories when listening to them - loses space, as well as the figure of the narrator, silenced by the difficulty of finding subjects who listen to them. They are important as they allow the sharing and affirmation of cultural legacies, which are commonly forgotten for the lack of time for human interaction. It is, therefore, through the need of getting to know stories not yet told, that we set out to work, as researcher-listeners, making room for the memory of individuals who wanted to share their stories, revealing Niterois still little known.