Um estudo antropológico do processo de construção das identidades das(os) jovens do campo no contexto de suas relações com a cidade no município de Macaubal-SP

Abstract

This master's thesis examines the process of identity construction among rural youth from a is to understand the meanings these young people attribute to youth, to the countryside, and to themselves when they identify as “rural youth” within the context of their relationships with the city. Methodologically, this is an ethnographic study conducted in an urban public school with students from rural backgrounds, aged between 14 and 17. Based on observations of these youths’ daily lives at school and the analysis of narratives they produced—collected through focus groups and interviews—the study seeks to grasp the processes involved in constructing senses of belonging, life projects, and forms of youth identification. By privileging the perspectives of the young people themselves, the research challenges homogenizing and stereotypical interpretations of rural youth. It concludes that the identities of rural youth are neither fixed nor homogeneous; rather, they are dynamically and markably constructed through everyday experiences and interactions between rural and urban worlds. The ways in which these young people perceive themselves as “rural youth” reveal negotiations involving belonging, aspirations, and social recognition, shaped both by structural inequalities and by individual and collective projects. By foregrounding the voices of these youths, the study highlights the importance of recognizing their agency and lived experiences, contributing to broader debates on youth, rural life, and social change in contemporary Brazil.