Social Imaginary and Social Representations of Brazil
Palavras-chave:
imaginaries, social representations, Brazil, mental mapsResumo
The image of the country has been an issue in Brazil since it became a nation (1822). This
text will present some research aimed at understanding the change of social thought
referring to Brazil. The theoretical concern were the dynamics of SR, their transformation,
and images: How and when do hegemonic representations, which are an important
component of social thought, change? How are images woven into this fabric? How can we
see it in the construction of SR? Three studies (two of which used moving images) will be
introduced as the path to a major research work based on mental maps. This paper describes
the path to this research, its relation with the imaginary institution of Brazil. It will start
with some historical background to help understand the context of the object studied. Then
the research work previous to this study will be summarized. The second part will present
the work with mental maps of Brazil. At last, some considerations about the potential of the
use of drawings in social representation research will be made.