Rural youths and permanencies: ruralities and urbanities represented in the Far West of Santa Catarina.
Keywords: rural youth; permanency; migration; rurality; urbanity; social representation
This thesis discusses the processes of permanence of young people in rural areas of the Far West of Santa Catarina. The objective of the research is to understand how the construction of social representations subsidizes and interferes in the decision processes of these social actors. Over the past decade, youth permanency rates in rural areas have increased significantly. Analyzing, therefore, the representations in relation to these scenarios and reflecting on the imaginary and on the accessed perceptions is a useful tool to better understand which rurality and which society is taking place in contemporary times. The research was based on the collection of questionnaires and interviews, as well as ethnographic monitoring. With this information, it can be considered that rural young people make a positive representation of the rural environment, based on the complimentary perception of their working conditions, income and tranquility. When pondering on urbanity, they format negative representations, linked to the pace of life, lack of autonomy and risk. These perspectives allow us to verify that rurality is taken as a life project, of which family, generational, gender, income and protagonism relations are central elements. Stimulating family and social dialogue on youth issues is necessary to improve life prospects in rural areas.