Envelhe(ser) no Século XXI: uma análise sobre velhice, fé e caridade na Vila Vicentina Julia Freire (João Pessoa- PB)

Abstract

This research intends to discuss the relationships between the process of aging and being old established within the Instituição de Longa Permanência para Idosos (ILPI), Vila Vicentina Julia Freire. These relationships are intertwined by a series of elements, such as faith and the practice of charity, that make up the social web of the beforementioned place. In this context, the people who compose and interact in the limited space established are transformed into protagonists of the narratives. They are volunteers, professionals and the elderly who, by presenting their lives stories and paths – which led them to Vila Vicentina –, and their perspectives towards the place and the idea of aging, offer us essential resources to think about the relationships, dynamics and representations that are part of their daily lives. Regarding the theoretical and methodological contributions, we will guide our reflections from authors who converse with Cultural History, such as the contributions of Chartier (1990) and the concept of representations, which were useful in the construction of the text; Michel de Certeau (2014) to think of the institution as a worked place; Ecléa Bosi (1994) dealing with the memory of the elderly; Le Goff (1994) and Halbwachs (1990) and their reflections on memory. Also, we used some recent research in the fields of history and sociology that take old age as the central axis of analysis, among them Cabral (2002), Cavalcanti (2013), Silva (2012) and Ramos (2008). The oral history emerges as the main methodological procedure, promoted through the junction of institutional sources, which are indispensable sources for the development of the research, such as the current legislation governing the rights of the elderly in Brazil, as well as the documents that guide the Sociedade de São Vicente de Paulo, including the SSVP Rule.