Social science undergrads at UFSC: Reflecting on (some of) their experiences, point of views and trajectories

Abstract

This article aims at reconstructing the social, educational and academic trajectories of graduates in Social Sciences, at our university, from a material of twelve in-depth interviews with such graduates during 2000s. Firstly, we discuss the different dynamics and paths to ‘choosing’ the degree in Social Sciences among interviewees from different sociocultural backgrounds, considering, as the literature points out, both the “expectations readjustments” that can lead to careers of lesser social prestige, as well as the unique socialization experiences that inculcate, in some of our interviewees, specific propensities and interests towards our career. Subsequently, we discuss some issues that were indistinctly thematized by interviewees from different sociocultural backgrounds, as, for instance, the theme of the “non-material gains” that interviewees routinely associate to their degree in Social Sciences despite the difficulties of professionalization frequently narrated by them.

Keywords

• Socialização
• Trajetórias Educacionais
• Licenciatura
• Ciências Sociais