Experiências de mobilidade social em bairros da “nova classe média” de Campina Grande, Paraíba: uma perspectiva multidimensional.

Abstract

This work addresses the phenomenon of social mobility recorded in the first two decades of the 21st century in Brazil from the experiences of social ascension lived by 22 families living in seven neighborhoods of the "new middle class" in Campina Grande, Paraíba, characterized by the passage of neighborhoods. popular for middle class dwelling places. We sought to treat the theme from a multidimensional perspective, blurring the boundaries of the traditional markers of social mobility found in sociological literature, emphasizing the experiences of mobility experienced throughout the life trajectories of individuals and families. The research presented here is both theoretical and empirical. On the one hand, it undertakes a debate on the adequacy made by Brazilian researchers of the theories on social mobility developed in the global north. On the other hand, it reveals diverse experiences of upward social mobility, as well as the elaborations made around these experiences by the people who experienced them, thus considering the material and symbolic contexts that give meaning to the idea of “living well” among those who compose it. the empirical universe investigated. By making operationally the theoretical models used to reflect on social mobility in contemporary Brazil, this thesis fits into the debate on the meanings of social transformations that occurred in Brazil after political democratization, which risk being obscured by the critical debates around of the notion of “new middle class”. Sociological criticism must undoubtedly underscore the ideological character of certain allegedly scientific formulations. But not at the price of making relevant social processes invisible, such as the change in family life that this thesis brings to light.