Cultural regions in Rio Grande do Sul: comparative studys

Abstract

Thinking of the region as a theoretical “construct”, founded on similarities and differences with other cultural areas, implies in the assumption of a blend, that means, the fusion of pure matters seeking the heterogeneity for the sake of cultural reality. According to Ricardo Kaliman, this latter can only be known when interwoven with the presumed paradigmatic homogeneity of the concept of “imagined culture” (Benedict Anderson), which reinforces even more the “culture lived” in Latin America. Thus, I intend to examine regional differences formed from different cultural substrates added to later acquisitions, which substantially change the cultural physiognomy of Rio Grande do Sul. The state starts to be mapped into new sub-regions from their local literary production. The study forces to widen the range for comparison so that the aimed interdisciplinarity can take over adjacent disciplinary areas, such as History and Sociology, passing beyond political and linguistic frontiers, and forming kinds of “subgroups” in the worldwide literary universe, representing the emanation and materialization of political and linguistic dominance, as stated by Pascale Casanova.