Banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO: SAMUEL DA COSTA SENA MAIA

Uma banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO de MESTRADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : SAMUEL DA COSTA SENA MAIA
DATE: 14/11/2025
TIME: 10:00
LOCAL: Sala 401 do PGTEC/UFRN
TITLE:

BETWEEN LEISURE AND WAR: Reflections on inequalities in access to entertainment spaces in Natal during World War II (1939-1945)

KEY WORDS:

Urban History; Third Places; Symbolic Capital; Rio Grande do Norte/Brazil.

PAGES: 152
BIG AREA: Ciências Sociais Aplicadas
AREA: Arquitetura e Urbanismo
SUBÁREA: Fundamentos de Arquitetura e Urbanismo
SPECIALTY: História da Arquitetura e Urbanismo
SUMMARY:

In the early 1940s, the city of Natal underwent significant urban and social transformations, driven by the effects of World War II. This led, among other things, to the expansion of leisure facilities and entertainment activities to accommodate the intense military presence in the city. In this context, these venues began to be frequented by different social groups, reflecting new interactions, usability, transit, and modes of integration. But how did Natal society and military contingents interact and participate in recreational spaces and enjoyment of leisure activities in this context? The forms of coexistence that emerged from the war, it can be inferred, enabled the intensification of unequal access to these spaces, reinforcing power relations and territorialities in the entertainment sector, which were associated with the dominant elites of society at the time. To explore this issue, the overall objective is to understand the repercussions of the American presence, its military support apparatus, and its relationships with local groups on the sociospatial dynamics of distribution, access, and use of leisure facilities in the city. To this end, the research draws primarily on theoretical and methodological approaches from sociology, drawing on Ray Oldenburg, who proposes the concept of "third places"; Joffre Dumazedier, who addresses the notions of "leisure" and "idleness"; and Pierre Bourdieu, who presents the theory of symbolic capital. In the field of historiography, the contributions of authors such as Giovana Paiva and Protásio Pinheiro de Melo play a central role in analyzing the historical configuration of Natal during the period studied. The procedures included bibliographical, documentary, and iconographic analysis, as well as newspaper clippings from the period, allowing us to grasp both the social and historical dimensions of the city in that context. Thus, the partial results indicate that the intense presence of foreign military personnel, interacting with various local actors, fostered significant social dynamics, and urban spaces began to function as instruments for alleviating the tensions caused by the war. At the same time, these leisure and entertainment spaces reflected distinctions between social groups, functioning as means of hierarchization and reproduction of power relations, constituting a symbolic social barrier that reinforced inequality and restricted access to these spaces.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Presidente - 347654 - ANGELA LUCIA DE ARAUJO FERREIRA
Interno - 1720813 - GEORGE ALEXANDRE FERREIRA DANTAS
Externo ao Programa - 101.187.984-05 - GIOVANNI ROBERTO PROTÁSIO BENTES FILHO
Externa à Instituição - GIOVANA PAIVA DE OLIVEIRA