The "unstructured family" and the "embryo-house": the uses of kinship in the reflections about the relationship between the dwellers of a working class district and a school in São Paulo

Abstract

This research aims to improve and refine the analytical and theoretical approach of the ethnographic material obtained in my PhD study, which is currently in progress, by approximating the recent anthropological theories about family and schooling of the Brazilian working class to the theoretical formulations and ethnographic studies about kinship and working class developed by British anthropologists. Three subthemes of my research in Brazil are in a direct dialogue with lines of research in British anthropology, in particular in The University of Manchester: 1) the "unstructured family": the uses of kinship in the schools of "Recando dos Humildes" (lit. "Nook of humble people"); 2) the production of local reputation: violence, belonging, and community; 3) the "embryo-house": the centrality of the mother in the production of the "houses of respectability". The revision, analysis and expansion of bibliographic references for the preparation of my PhD thesis will constitute a routine of work during all my research phase in the United Kingdom, that foresee visits to the libraries of the University of Manchester and occasionally to the ones of other cities of the UK, such as London and Edinburgh. To fully explore analytically my findings in fieldwork it is necessary an immersion both in the past production and in contemporary discussions promoted by British anthropology, through attendance in conferences, seminars and research groups at The University of Manchester. (AU)