Conversation Circles as a Reflection Strategy, Knowledge and Mobilization: Experiences of the Federal University of Paraíba

Abstract

The public sense of the university relates to its ability to focus on the challenges posed to society, and the conditions for this are increasingly scarce, which becomes ingredient for the recent strikes of the federal educational institutions. Starting from the understanding of the strike as a struggle instrument, four professors and one student of the Federal University of Paraíba developed conversation circles, in order to move the university and enhance their sense of community and their critical and creative capacity. This paper will present how happened this conversation circles and how they contributed to the exercise of the social role of the university by their participants. Eight meetings were held from July to November 2015, the strike period, at the Occupational Therapy Department of the Federal University of Paraiba, attended by students, teachers, technical servers and the community in general. They were discussed socially relevant issues, such as the public nature of the university, homophobia, violence against black women and student assistance. The circles have provided elements that were in line with what we believe about the social role of the university, with spaces for exchanges and collective production of knowledge, socially relevant reflections and actions