Entre o deserto da Covid-19 e o oásis da calçada literária: história e memória em tempos de crise

Abstract

This research aims to understand how the History of Education was preserved during the Covid-19 pandemic, taking as its object of analysis the experience of Calçada Literária — a virtual reading group that held weekly meetings through the Google Meet platform. In the context of confinement and social distancing, marked by fear and uncertainty, online cultural practices became alternatives to sustain social bonds and give meaning to the lived experience. It is within this scenario that Calçada Literária emerged, bringing together friends and guests around shared reading. Situated within the field of the History and Memory of Education, the study explores emerging educational practices and their role in meaning- making, in mediating experience, and in preserving collective memory. The methodological approach is qualitative, based on bibliographic research and the analysis of narratives produced by six group participants through semi-structured interviews. The analyses were guided by theoretical contributions from authors such as Michèle Petit (2009), Jerome Bruner (2001), Christine Delory-Momberger (2008), among others. The results indicate that Calçada Literária not only strengthened affective and social ties but also contributed to the construction of collective meanings and to the preservation of the historical memory of the pandemic period. It is concluded that emerging cultural practices, such as those experienced within this reading group, kept the educational experience alive even in a context of institutional disruption, reaffirming the role of literature and memory as structuring forces of education.