Fotografia e identidade territorial a partir dos jovens no vale do Rio Pardo - RS.

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze how young people, in the region of the Rio Pardo Valley‟s Regional Development Council (COREDE), perceive territorial identity. The research used a questionnaire with closed and open questions together with photographs taken by the participants as methodological resources. The young interviewees formed two distinct groups: one group consisted of young people from various rural areas of the Rio Pardo Valley who study at the same urban school. The other group was of young people living in the urban area of Santa Cruz do Sul municipality and studying at another urban school. This study used a qualitative approach to analyze the empirical object. The theoretical framework was composed of cultural studies together with studies related to territory, region and regional development. The diversity of identities, from various cultural backgrounds of the two groups of young people interviewed, showed that each group brings perceptions from the territorial space where they live, captured by the photographs and interviews, illustrating specific aspects of the urban and rural areas. The analysis of the results suggests that young people perceive their space from their daily experiences. The young urban residents take into account images that distinctively reflect cultural, historical and touristic aspects. Images that represent an interest in economic, social and ecological aspects are more prominent in the group of young people from the rural area.