Religião e cultura local: estudo de dois grupos espíritas potiguares

The subject of this research is the spiritual religious field, connected with the local cultural perspectives. Its basis is the analysis of two spiritual groups settled in Natal/RN: The Spiritual Group Evangelho no Lar and the Spiritual Center Garimpeiros da Luz . These two groups represent a point of convergence of several sectors of this religion, either through its insertion in the local sphere or in contact to nationally influent leaders, like the mediums Francisco Cândido Xavier and Divaldo Pereira Franco. Then, it aims to reach the potiguar singularities in their spiritualism approaches, looking for an analyses to possible connections between local values and themes from the spiritualism largely developed in Brazil. So, its objective is to act in the scope of influence, references, representations and adaptive practices in a local context, and they signalize special practices . The approaches until now developed refer only to the living of a Brazilian spiritualism, perfectly developed in contact with the catholic substrate, but there s still a gap about the local observation, with its peculiarities, which its research aims to disclosure. The option for a qualitative approach, in perfect relationship with the nature of the questions which were made was considered as an appropriate way to guide the study. To reach this, it will be made an ethnography of the studied groups, not only in the use of open interviews with its members but also in the contact and observation of its religious behavior, for example: meeting for studies of the doctrine, mediunic meetings, public lectures, helping the public in general. As results of this research we can point to the delimitation of local cultural references, which are undeniable, in relation to the identification of RN personalities who are considered coordinators or active spirits in the work performed by the groups. Thus, Auta de Souza, poetess and woman of great religiosity, Augusto Severo de Albuquerque Maranhão, martyr of the aeronautics, Father João Maria, object of popular devotion and Abdias Antônio de Oliveira, ex president of the Spiritual Federation of RN, present themselves as spiritual beings who lead the adaptability to the local context. In such a context, we have to point out the work of mediums, who, having a specific charisma, interacted with the groups in the establishment of these cultural bridges already made in their own contexts (national level), through the work equally possible to be locally reproduced. This and other facts, point out to perspectives of cultural circularity , including referring to a greater linking to sub layers in a true zone that converges and has circulation between an erudite spiritualism with another one, turned to the incorporation of local and popular elements

Paulo Freire e a pedagogia do oprimido: afinidades pós-coloniais

The main objective of the present research is to reflect on the affinities between post-colonial theories - analytical perspectives directed toward the discussion of colonialism and its effects on the contemporary social fabric - and Brazilian educator, Paulo Freire‟s (1921-1997) Pedagogy of the Oppressed, written at the end of the 1960‟s. The study aims to make the argument that the present reflections on the featured work is an example of a post-colonial theoretical framework, delineating a critical modus operandi of colonialism, particularly in its cultural and epistemic dimensions, delineating a problematization of the processes of cognitive domination set, above all, by the European colonization of the Latin American continent, with the formation of the modern-world-system (WALLERSTEIN, 2007), dated from the 16TH Century forward. From this stand point, and especially supported by the contributions of Boaventura de Sousa Santos on the sociology of absence, the present work accentuates Pedagogy of the Oppressed as a set of reflections that bring the possibility of a pedagogy of absence (SANTOS, 1996), having in mind that, this book deals with, the presuppositions of an educational action, which considers the plurality of knowledge and social practices by way of the establishment of a pedagogical practice of collective construction, emancipator and dialogic that arises from the encounter to the indolent reason (SANTOS, 2009) in which the silencing of the voices of the oppressed, construct their conditions of invisibility, promoting also the absence of the social questions inherent to the processes of teaching and learning. It is with this perspective, however, that post colonialism is considered a theoretical site for the affirmation and the reinvention of the Pedagogy of the Oppressed, an obligatory reference in the construction of a prudent knowledge for a decent life (SANTOS, 2006)

Jovens assentados, jovens estudantes, jovens professores: juventude em assentamentos rurais do RN

This work discusses how schooling processes can contribute to young settlers resignify their relationship with rural settlements where they live. We want to understand youngster s place, his relationship with local community, social movements and their acting, after formation, at their localities. Thereunto, we tracked a group of students of Land Teaching Course, developed through a partnership between UFRN, INCRA and MST in the years 2004 to 2007. We observed their trajectories, the learnings provided by the Course and how Formation Centre experiences contributed to their agent conditions, offering them choice opportunities on different fields. We understand that formation process enabled them to have individual gains, widening their range of choices, while have contributed to development of areas in which they live, from their collective action. Social practices experienced in collective environment, combined with education access, provided a set of knowledge. These learnings have enabled youngsters to assume positions in participation areas which have been opened at school, while teachers, at social movements and at associations that manage the settlements

Histórias e relatos sobre Pipa: a praia internacional do Rio Grande do Norte

The overwhelming gear that boosted tourism as the main economic activity of Pipa a district formerly agricultural and fishery, that belongs to the municipality of Tibau do Sul/RN produced significant changes in the social, economic and cultural rights of the native population of the place where social relations were narrow and justified in some cases, the line of kinship in an environment where all residents knew each other. However, we can not observe the emergence of this activity just as voracious disarticulator of old local forms of sociability that in a linear process, destroys the old, replacing it with the new. New compositions are generated by merging elements of past and present. Overcoming opposition to simplistic positive or negative impacts of tourism sought especially in this dissertation, review the history of Pipa (told in narrative form), showing how slowly this district has become a major international tourist destination and how its residents were being swallowed by the "whirlwind" that led to this reality. The research used qualitative methodology and was based on photographic, literature and survey, observation, experience, oral and written reports acquired in the field. We conducted in-depth interviews (oral history) with subjects that are the living memory of the place local residents (mostly natives). We found that before the process of "modernization" resulting from the pressure of globalization itself and the capital investment in tourism resulting from the native population is not passive. On the contrary, natives resist, creating mechanisms of material and symbolic reformulations. The present moment is always dynamic. Because of that, the identity of a place is not the crystallization of its past. Many landscapes still reveal materialities of yesteryear, such as registration of social practices in the construction of the place

O espaço de todos, cada um no seu lugar : o uso dos espaçõs públicos destinados ao lazer em Natal

A problemática atual da urbanização coloca questões delicadas referentes ao seu ritmo de crescimento, sua relação com o desenvolvimento econômico, o aparecimento de novas formas urbanas e sua relação com as novas maneiras de articulação capitalista. A compreensão espacial do lazer nas cidades apresenta-se, assim, como tema de grande importância para as sociedades contemporâneas. O interesse e a importância de tratar esse tema na cidade do Natal - enfocando-se a distribuição dos espaços públicos de lazer nos diversos bairros e sua utilização pelos seus habitantes - justifica-se pelo fato dessa capital apresentar um crescimento populacional surpreendente nos últimos anos, tendo uma expansão urbana desordenada que se reflete na carência de infra-estrutura urbana e numa forte segregação espacial. Foram feitas a verificação da disponibilidade de espaços públicos de lazer nos bairros e a identificação dos diversos fatores que interferem na utilização desses espaços, visando contribuir para a compreensão do fenômeno do lazer urbano, bem como, para o aprofundamento da discussão acerca da função social desses, que possibilite montar estratégias para a utilização de forma democrática desses espaços nas cidades. Para tanto foi necessária uma articulação teórica das questões peltinentes ao espaço urbano e ao lazer, que formam uma área epistemológica de interseção quando trata das questões referentes ao direito à cidadania, onde está contemplado o direito à cidade (á moradia e ao seu entomo). Os dados para que caracterizaram as vivências do lazer nos espaços públicos da cidade foram levantados em três fontes: nos documentos (plano diretor da cidade, planos de políticas públicas entre outros), nas entrevistas com a comunidade e nas observações diretas dos espaços de manifestações do lazer. A análise aponta que existe uma distribuição irregular dos espaços públicos de lazer, por bairro e Região Administrativa da cidade do Natal que apresenta relação com a segregação espacial por classe, existente na cidade, fruto da dinâmica econômica e práticas sociais aqui existentes. Constata-se ainda que a camada desprovida desses equipamentos de lazer não age espontaneamente, nem através de seus representantes e mandatários institucionais, em prol da distribuição de oportunidades nesses campos, possibilitando que a segregação continue em círculos viciosos, pois a própria segregação dificulta o encontro, a percepção das diferenças e o conflito, que podem ser resgatados numa nova forma de organização do cotidiano

Os embates entre ciência e política na experiência parlamentar de Josué de Castro

This study want to know how Josué de Castro, the two terms of a congressman, participated in the Brazilian political-ideological debate of the 1950s. For this, search the 61 speeches in the plenary of the House of Representatives and its 14 projects, analyzing them as historical documents that describe an experience, which enables the central category amalgamated the subject and his time, which breaks up the possibilities of new social practices. Unity of action and reflection, the experience of Castro in the Brazilian parliament has got on the basis of a previous flow experiences in the political-institutional and scientific. Together with the personal history, the political intellectual scenario of his time was another variable considered in the first chapter of this work. In the second chapter did an analysis of 32 speeches and projects of the first term of Josué de Castro, grouping them by thematic affinities. The 43 for the second term were discussed in the third chapter, leaving the final considerations answer the research objectives: What are the main interlocutors? What are your political positions? What are the points of rupture and continuity in his political career? Josué de Castro spoke to the Brazilian state directly to the president, some ministers and to the SUDENE, the ONU appears indirectly through the reports of his participations. His political position was a national-developmentalist who embraced the cause of self-determination of the countries, anti-imperialism, agrarian reform and regional planning, strongly inspired by Celso Furtado and San Tiago Dantas. Castro often has blended a liberal and Marxist terminology, relying on different ideologies to do support his fight against hunger

Os empoderados da agricultura familiar: capital social nos territórios do seridó e do sertão do Apodi/RN

The study of social practices aims to overcome the theoretical dichotomies that insist on separating the individual from the social structures and vice versa. In this sense, the debate between objectivism and subjectivism in the construction of social reality still has occupied much time and reflection of various scholars of the humanities. Pierre Bourdieu has extensive work that seeks to advance in relation to the theoretical framework of traditional sociological explanations. Bourdieu`s approach regarding social practices is considered by some researchers as a synthesis of classical theories and by others as an attempt of complexify contemporary studies on the significance of social life. This thesis sharesthis effort to understand the social practices of agents, aiming to analyze the strategies of social and political leaders of family farming in the territories of Seridó and Apodi in Rio Grande do Norte, and it has as reference the theoretical and methodological concepts of habitus, field and capital, in Bourdieu. Therefore, we studied the trajectories of social leaders, here called agents as family farming in the two locations in Rio Grande do Norte. As techniques and procedures of the study, we resortedto semi-structured interviews, observations, participation in events and other researches. In conclusion, this thesis gives an account of the construction of two different relational fields for the activities of agents of family farming in the territories of Seridó and Apodi. Although the relational fields in the territories have been structured under the same prevailing institutions, which are: church, union and political party, the social practice of agents shows itself from social position and political variety. Even with the similarities and differences identified and analyzed in different fields of construction, the social relations of the agents in the territories result in the construction of gated communities, the social capital that is the substrate which the agents called empowered .

A formação do professor alfabetizador em cursos de Pedagogia: contribuições e lacunas teórico-práticas

To the we assume the disciplines of the area of Literacy of the course of Pedagogy, our intention has been the one of working the literacy, the reading and the writing as alive processes, as social practices inserted in the history, continuators of the subjectivity, done in the culture and producing of culture. The importance of the course of Pedagogy in the teachers' formation is unquestionable; however our goal is to highlight, in this work, the paper of that course in the formation of the teacher alphabetized, while mediator of the literacy process with an inclusive vision. In that to walk, it appeared us the following subject: which the contributions and the gaps theoretical-practices - of degree courses in Pedagogy - experienced for the exits of that course, in the specific pedagogic work of alphabetizing children, young adult and/or our study aims at to investigate, under the perspective of teachers alphabetizer licensed in courses of Pedagogy, the contributions and the theoretical-practical gaps of those courses, in the formation of the educator alphabetizer. In this sense, our work if it bases on the presuppositions of the qualitative investigation that leaves of the foundation that there is a dynamic relationship among the real and subjective world, an alive interdependence between subject and object, an entail indissoluble between the objective world and the subjective (CHIZZOTTI, 1998, p.79). The research is characterized as a descriptive and interpretative study and for the collection of data; the questionnaire, the semi-structured interview and the documental analysis were used. We took the following providences for the choice of Locus and of the subject of the research: it visits to the schools; compatibility of the criteria previously defined for choice of Locus and of the Subjects. For the choice of those schools, we defined the following criteria: that, in your individuality / totality, they were located in integral neighborhoods of, at least three of the four administrative areas of the city of Natal; that, in your individuality / totality, they contemplated the public spheres and private of attendance; that, in the year of accomplishment of the research - 2004 - they were offering infantile education and/or fundamental teaching; this last one gone back to the children of the initial years and/or for the youth and adult of the first levels of the modality of EJA; and that made possible the researcher's access. Front to the particularities of our study object and considering the criteria of choice of the locus, four public schools and three private schools were selected. Like this being, in those schools, we would look for the subject of our work that they would owe: 1) to be working, in 2004, with children's literacy, youths or adults: they as teacher (the), it as coordinator (the) that guides teachers alphabetizer, in public schools or peculiar of the city of the Natal-RN; 2) to be exit (the) of the degree course in Pedagogy, supplied by institutions of superior level (public or matters) of the city of the Natal-RN; 3) to have concluded your course of Pedagogy in the period of 1990-2004; 4) to have, at least, 01(one) year of experience in literacy rooms (TARDIF, 2002). The subjects interviewees concluded your courses of Pedagogy, in the period from 1990 to 2004, in institutions different from the city of Natal/RN, being five to the whole: two public IES and three deprived IES. Of the analysis of the data, the theme emerged, ' teacher's Alphabetizer Educational Formation in Courses of Pedagogy', with the following categories: contributions of the courses of Pedagogy; More important disciplines in the educational formation; Areas / Aspects lacunars of the courses of Pedagogy. The pedagogic practice of the teacher alphabetizer demands a formation from him found in you know educational, requested in the children's literacy, youths and adults. In that work, we defended the thesis that the course of Pedagogy is the locus, par excellence, for that formation, in spite of possible structural limitations and curricular of the referred course. In spite of the countless contributions of the pedagogy course for the formation of the teacher alphabetizer, our data appear for the need of a revision of the proposals curricular of that course, getting the attention for the importance of a proposal formation curricular more gone back to the literacy process / literate and for the social inclusion. We thought that, although insufficient, the teacher's formation in that perspective is a fundamental condition for a practice pedagogic alphabetizer to be promoted, in fact, inclusive and promoter of the school success

A educação da mulher em Lima Barreto

Lima Barreto has built an educational conception of women in his fictional productions despite nuances inciting scholars to debate his writings and label him as misogynist and philogynist. Thus, the objective of this study is to comprehend, through signs present in his literary works, how women used to be educated in early twentieth century to accomplish the historical differences in gender relations. The main reason for this extract is the periodicity of his publications that started in 1900 by means of chronicles in newspapers and ended in 1922 after his death. For this, we identified codes and rules forged in the social processes to be assimilated by children through diverse institutions, aiming to incite the production of behaviors and social practices represented by the existence men and women in an ever changing society. Gender relations are analyzed within a society for their configuration concept by Nobert Elias (1970) as interdependence bonds among individuals. An investigative method proposed by Ginzburg (1989) was the most adequate to conduct the research on the work of Lima Barreto because it enables us to reconstruct the education concept for women. The dramas and novels analyzed point out the construction of categories such as women education, family, love and seduction revealing the engagement of Lima Barreto with the social problems of the period investigated. It was concluded that gender differentiation has come from family education which kept men and women in opposing sides giving them a marriage perspective that, after consummated, would bring frustration to women causing them to adopt confronting practices against domination strategies through celibacy or adultery. This research constitutes a reflection based on determined representations like justice, respect and duties that were the ideas defended by Lima Barreto in his writings, concerning both broader situations in social life and particular gender relations

Construtivismo de marco teórico-pedagógico a grife: um estudo a partir das mensagens veiculadas na internet

This thesis is resulted of a research on propagated the social representations of constructivism in the Internet, which as had estimated basic the idea of Moscovici (1961) of that the media it has determinative paper in the popularization of the scientific theories, in formation e propagation of the social representations and in the construction of behaviors human beings. Understanding the Internet as latest space of circulation of social communications, therefore, privileged field (and still not explored) for studies of social representations, we choose this half midiático as investigative field of our research, it if it constitutes in the "great ocean of the new informational planet" (LEVY, 2000, p. 126), besides making possible the interaction with different forms of images, different individuals, different ' world ', configuring itself as important space of symbolic production e of analysis of the representational process in the world contemporary. Based in these questions, we trace as objective to analyze the circulating speech propagated on-line on the constructivism, searching to apprehend the social representations shared the respect. This objective was constructed in face of the insertion of the theory constructivist in the educational way has two decades more than, as well as of its consolidation as reference in different social contexts, mainly in midiático. The question that directed the research was: as this theory obtains to penetrate in some layers of our society, to influence the world readings e the behaviors of different people? That modifications it suffers in this trajectory and which the paper of the Internet in this process? The corpus of the research was constituted of the substances on the theory found in the Internet, in pages in Portuguese of Google, in the period of 27 of July of 2004 the 17 of August of 2004. The data they had been analyzed on the basis of the project of analysis of content elaborated for Moscovici (1961) and in the estimated theoreticians of the social communication, in special of the hypermedia. The results had disclosed that the Internet participates of determinative form in the process of popularization of the constructivism theory, not only spreading out its estimated theoretician- methodological for the domain public (diffusion), but propagating positive beliefs and images of its postulates (propagation) and using them it service of interests politicians e financiers (propaganda). The popularization of the constructivism in the Internet and social representations of this theory propagated configure one process in which the theory passes of pedagogical theoretical landmark for grief, assuming a commercial character extremely and the status of solution for problems of the education and the society, stirring up attitudes and behaviors in public, most general possible, that comes to take care of to the interests politicians e marketing. Recognizing the diversity, the permanent renewal of information and the negotiation of directions gifts in the Internet, as well as the innumerable ones forms of access to the information found by it, we consider results of the research as fruits of the inherent characteristics to this way midiático, to the time where we call the attention for relativity these results, for the plasticity of knowing them and sensible propagated on-line e for the great challenge that the hypermedia imposes to the study of communication phenomena, of the social representations and in educational quarrels and for the necessity of new research that they investigate the forms of socialization of the information and communication propitiated by hypermedia and its implications in the construction of the symbolic universes and in practical social

Um estudo de práticas matemáticas históricas e sugestões de uso na matemática escolar

This dissertation aims to contribute on teaching of mathematics for enabling learning connected to the relationship among science, society, culture and cognition. To this end, we propose the involvement of our students with social practices found in history, since. Our intention is to create opportunities for school practices that these mathematical arising from professional practice historical, provide strategies for mathematical thinking and reasoning in the search for solutions to problematizations found today. We believe that the propose of producing Basic Problematization Units, or simply UBPs, in math teacher formation, points to an alternative that allows better utilization of the teaching and learning process of mathematics. The proposal has the aim of primary education to be, really forming the citizen, making it critical and society transformative agent. In this sense, we present some recommendations for exploration and use of these units for teachers to use the material investigated by us, in order to complement their teaching work in mathematics lessons. Our teaching recommendations materialized as a product of exploration on the book, Instrumentos nuevos de geometria muy necessários para medir distancia y alturas sem que interuengan numeros como se demuestra em la practica , written by Andrés de Cespedes, published in Madrid, Spain, in 1606. From these problematizations and the mathematics involved in their solutions, some guidelines for didactic use of the book are presented, so that the teacher can rework such problematizations supported on current issues, and thus use them in the classroom

Práticas discursivas e relações afetivas na contemporaneidade: o caso dos verbos ficar e namorar no contexto do vestibular da UFRN

This work is inserted to Applied Linguistic studies, concerned to the understanding that language is a social practice, bringing a qualitative research, discussing essential aspects that involve the subject and his/her discursive practice: signification and valuation. Due to this, we have elected as subject study, the sense and values attributed to the verbs make out and date searched on the articles written in the Vestibular 2005 process promoted by the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), that had the following instruction: In a relationship, is it better make out , just date , or, both, make out and date ? This research is based on the Circle of Bakhtin s dialogic theory, as well as in the notions of instability in the affective relationships nowadays and in the individualization and multiplicity of contemporaneous subjectivity. Those papers are important to analyze the meaning and values that the verbs make out and date present, nowadays, as expressions of an affective relationship and how this situation can interfere in the positions of subjectivity in a formal instance as a vestibular. Those textual productions reflect those relationships, confronting temporary ones, whose discuss is marked, in general, by social voices that evaluate to make out negatively and to date positively

Letramento no trânsito: eventos e práticas na formação de condutores de veículos

In the contemporary society, the language is presented in all social spaces and assumes many different purposes in order to meet the needs that emerge from each of these sphere. In traffic, this reality is not different. To guide vehicles, it is necessary to know, by means of reading artifacts, what the legislation establishes in what concerns the way to act in this domain. Thus, this works aims at describing the practices of literacy held in events of driver trainings and know the expectations generated by drivers/learners from this training. In theoretical terms, it anchors in Literacy Studies, comprehended here as social practices (BARTON; HAMILTON, 1998; KLEIMAN, 1995, 2008; MORTATTI, 2004; STREET, 1984; OLIVEIRA, 2008, 2010; ROJO, 2009; PAZ, 2008). Genre Theory (BRONCKART, 2004, 1999; OLIVEIRA, 2010) and in your multimodal instance (KRESS; VAN LEEUWEN, 1996; DIONÍSIO, 2006). In terms of methodology, it follows the bias of qualitative research, because of its ethnographic nature (BOGDAN; BIKLEN, 1994; MINAYO, 2010; CANÇADO, 1994; CHIZZOTTI, 2005). The research corpus was generated by reading the Brazilian Traffic Code, by observing the literacy events held in Drivers Training Centers of Natal, analysis of course books used in these events, plus questionnaires with open and closed questions and semistructured interviews. The collaborators are constituted of drivers in training, and instructors who work in this field. The analyses show significant contributions regarding the placement more committed of future drivers with the welfare and safety of those who use the public roads, from the practice or reading done during the traffic training. The contribution of this work lies in the possibility to expand the discussion about the language practice uses regarding the training for the traffic, more specifically, the training of drivers of vehicles

Mundos de letramento e agência na construção da identidade de seminaristas católicos

Atualmente, os conceitos de mundos de letramentos e agência social nos permitem observar o desenvolvimento de competências relacionadas às práticas sociais e às ações transformadoras que influenciam, de forma decisiva, a vida de jovens seminaristas e a vida das comunidades das quais fazem parte. Com este trabalho objetivamos contextualizar social e culturalmente os letramentos na esfera do lar e a influência da família na formação do seminarista bem como evidenciar o papel do grupo de jovens na formação pessoal e o fortalecimento do sentimento de autoestima produzido pela relação de confiança e pela delegação de responsabilidades. Procuramos, por fim, descrever os principais pilares formadores do Seminário, como agência de letramento, e sua importância na formação identitária do seminarista. Trata-se de pesquisa qualitativa de cunho etnográfico cuja metodologia baseia-se em análise de narrativas semiestruturadas e questionários sócio avaliativos. Os fundamentos teóricos que sustentam nossa pesquisa estão ancorados nos estudos de letramento (BARTON, HAMILTON, IVANI, 2000; STREET, 2003; OLIVEIRA, 2010), na Análise do Discurso (FAIRCLOUGH, 2001), no Realismo Crítico (ARCHER, 2000; AHEARN, 2001), na Sociologia (GIDDENS, 2003, 2005); (SZTOMPKA, 2005), no Interacionismo Simbólico (BERGER, P. L., LUCKMANN, 2009). A análise dos dados nos permitiu: 1) (re)afirmar o papel da instituição família como a principal guardiã do conjunto de ideias e valores, os quais fortalecem as representações sociais associadas a essa instituição, sendo responsáveis pela formação identitária de nossos colaboradores; 2) reconhecer o importante papel social desempenhado por instituições sociais informais que, com o objetivo de promover ações evangelizadoras e solidárias, proporcionam aos seus catequizados o desenvolvimento de múltiplas competências direcionadas à agência pessoal e social, dentre as quais destacamos as Pastorais como fortes aliadas nesse processo formador de identidades sociais positivas, porque os indivíduos que delas participam adquirem competências agentivas que são responsáveis por transformações de ordem pessoal e social; 3) descrever os processos formadores que permitem a manutenção da tradição dentro de uma instituição religiosa. Nossos achados apontam para a necessidade de compreendermos a sociedade como constituída e constituinte de muitos e diversos mundos de letramento, os quais estão a serviço de todo aquele que consegue se perceber como ser atuante no mundo

A construção estilística das identidades poéticas da cidade de Natal: um olhar bakhtiniano

The purpose of this work is to bring forward cultural identities of the city of Natal that are built upon representations contained in the work of Twentieth-Century Potiguar1 poets. We started out with the premise that the urban tissue owes its formation to the effect of the feelings produced and to the individuals that give shape to them, thus causing the city to abound with feelings and meanings that are relevant for both society and the individual. As cities and their identities may be studied and interpreted from different viewpoints, we have used in this study poetic discourse that functions as a memory to the city and takes shape out of a set of historically established social practices. Our research is situated within the area of Applied Linguistics, an area of knowledge focused mainly in language that is increasingly expanding its investigation limits in an interdisciplinary way. Therefore, this study is based on a social and historical model of language, with language construed as a discourse practice (Bakhtin and Circle), and presents an interface with cultural studies (Hall, Canclini), taking into account the fact that culture builds up values and brings forth differences in respect of the conditions under which such values and differences are produced. In this sense, we have tried to ―listen‖ to what the poets say, by understanding and interpreting the meanings produced by their discourse, in order to identify the formation of the identities of the city that arise out of distinct points of view and diverse stylistic marks. Analysis of these poetic utterances lead to multifold cultural identities of the city, ranging from a naive and multicolored Natal to a city that builds itself on its characters and on to an insurgent, usurped Natal