Rural identity: discourses and images in small localities of Paysandú, Uruguay

Abstract

The objective of this article is to present the main lines of a work project aimed at identifying and analyzing in a participatory manner the impact generated by standardized discourses related to rurality in the environment of small rural communities in the interior of the department of Paysandú, Uruguay. The context of generalized access to Internet connection and information and communication devices throughout Uruguay could be a trigger for modifications in the way in which school-age children living in rural areas are constructing their identities. It is interesting to pay attention to the visual condensates that circulate, whether they come from the traditional or family environment, or to discard the assumption of hybridization triggered by globalization by identifying the mechanisms through which these identities of rurality and the link with the common spaces of the environment are shaped. It is proposed to focus on rural single-teacher and multi-grade schools, considering that they constitute and define a public space for the construction of citizenship in a specific and selected territory. Although the implementation of this device had been foreseen, the outbreak of the pandemic stopped the possibility of carrying out the activities as they were designed, which modified the process and opened the challenge of exploring new ways of approaching it. This paper reports on this process.