Cultura operária

In the past few years, soccer has been the topic of academic debates. An investigation of soccer as a phenomenon capable of accounting for social relations in a given cultural context is the challenge proposed in this work. The present master’s thesis analyzes cultural manifestations of the working class through a case study of the soccer team Villa Nova Atlético Clube. This work intends to investigate the development of forms of identity in Nova Lima, in the state of Minas Gerais, during the first five decades that followed the Proclamation of the Republic, following the exam of a sport that was created and fostered by the owners of the Morro Velho mine and its workers . This research is also invested with a political aspect insofar as it attempts to look into possible articulations between the sport’s activity and the workers union at Saint Jonh d’El Rey Mining Company. The sources that cover the topic and used for the research were books, documents, newspapers, periodicals, and the team’s statute. Given the scarcity of sources, this thesis resorted also to oral history as a way to complement the research methodology. This work intends to contribute to a possible understanding of workers’ culture through a study of a phenomenon that led to the formation of a new social context in the lives of Nova Lima inhabitants in the beginning of the twentieth century.