IDENTITARY SHIFT OF BRAZILIAN PERIPHERY DWELLERS: A GAME OF IMAGES AS THE EFFECT OF SUBJECTIFICATION

Résumé

The aim of this article is to discuss Brazilian urban periphery dwellers’ possibilities of constructing identitary places when they join the world of work, notably in companies located in places that, according to the official discourse, are considered to be better; i.e, more affluent. An empirical survey was thus undertaken. We have carried out 17 interviews and the data collected in the field has been submitted to the French version of automatic discourse analysis, and it revealed that an identitary shift indeed existed as these professionals, due to their social origin. They have, encountered barriers to professional integration and development in their work environments and moreover, on returning to their place of origin, were rejected by their family and circle of friends because they had acquired habits and behavior that were typical of the “South Zone” (upper-class area of Rio de Janeiro). This dilemma of self-identity that revolves around the concepts of place, nonplace and between-place, resulted in three emerging categories: shame, revolt and resignation. These feelings revealed that, in reality, this is effectively a question of alterity, as the “peripherals”, due to an asymmetrical power relation, introject the dominant norms, standards and culture.