Comunidade Silva: identidades em jogo

Abstract

This dissertation aims at analyzing cultural identities produced by representations spread in the allegedly maroon Silva Community, in Guaíba, Rio Grande do Sul. It is an attempt to understand how these representations either converge or strain the maroon identity fixed by public policies. The research corpus has included semi-structured interviews, which were tape-recorded and transcribed, with five people living in Silva Community – two men and three women – and field notes. I have analyzed the research material produced in the Community context, based on Cultural Studies theorizations, from a perspective in line with the post-structuralist thought, having the concepts of representation, identity and difference as theoretical analytical tools. Intertwining the analytical tools with the research material has made possible to understand identity crossings experienced by subjects from Silva Community. I have analyzed the production of gaucho, Afro-Brazilian and maroon identities, which both converge to and str