The doctor, the faith and the workers: communist militancy between traumas, interdicts and historical narratives

Abstract

This article aims to address issues related to traumas and interdictions about communist militancy in historical narratives. As a motto for its approach, the text presents as an object of study a group of textile workers from the city of Magé, State of Rio de Janeiro, and proposes to analyze the varied deferences to the communist doctor Irun Sant’Anna in the interviews of oral history. Based on the debate on memories and identities, in dialogue with the propositions of E. P. Thompson and Mike Savage on processes of class formation and recurrent idealizations of those who research the theme, the article seeks to highlight and discuss complex elements of the analyzed group of workers, aiming to deepen broader reflections, related to the study of the labor history in Brazil.

Keywords

• class formation
• communism
• textile workers