Liquid Youth: From Street Kids to Theater Actors. An Account of a Reaffiliation Process

Authors

  • Milton N. Campos University of Montreal - Federal University od Rio de Janeiro
  • Ana Paula Burg University of Montreal
  • Mayara Moraes Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
  • Adriana Guerra Abreu Lemos Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
  • Daniel Goncalves Alves Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
  • Ligia C. Leite Federal University of Rio de Janeiro

Keywords:

street kids, youths, adolescents, collaboration, communication, theater, re-affiliation, liquid, empowerment, action-research.

Abstract

We report an action research investigating ways of using communication strategies to help abandoned adolescents living in a shelter in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to be reaffiliated with society. A team of researchers, psychiatry in-training students, and municipal caretakers worked with teens who decided to engaged in theater production. Adolescent mothers and fathers, pregnant girls, and boys participated in the collaborative writing of a theater play, its performances, and collective debates. Data were analyzed, during the process, around the notions of affiliation, disaffiliation, and reaffiliation to feed the action research. The article discusses how vulnerable Afro-Brazilian adolescents are affected by negative globalization, suggesting that the theater process can lead them to resignify their lives and to reaffiliate with society.

Author Biographies

Milton N. Campos, University of Montreal - Federal University od Rio de Janeiro

Milton N. Campos is Honorary Professor at the Department of Communication of the University of Montreal, Canada. He is presently working at the School of Communication of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. He holds a Psy.D. degree (1997) and a "Livre Docência" in Communication from the University of São Paulo, Brazil (2011). His postdoctoral research was carried out at Simon Fraser University, Canada (1997-1999). He was also Visiting Professor at the University of Neuchâtel, Swtzerland (2008-2009), and the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2014-2015).Tel - 1-514-538-4326Tel - 55-21-3254-1302

Ana Paula Burg, University of Montreal

MA Research Assistant1-514-343-6111

Mayara Moraes, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro

MA Research AssistantTel - 55-21-2543-3101

Adriana Guerra Abreu Lemos, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro

MA Research AssistantTel - 55-21-2543-3101

Daniel Goncalves Alves, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro

Undergraduate Research AssistantTel - 55-21-2543-3101

Ligia C. Leite, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro

Ligia C. Leite is Researcher and Professor Collaborator at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where she works since 1991. She holds a Ph.D. (1996) from her home institution. Her postdoctoral research was carried out at the University of Montreal, Canada (2001), and she was Visiting Researcher at the Fluminense Federal University in Rio de Janeiro (2007).Tel - 55-21-2543-3101

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Published

2016-01-06

Issue

Section

Articles