BIBLIOTHERAPY AS A FORMATIVE PRACTICE

GENDER AND SYMBOLIC ELABORATION IN “ENSAIOS DE DESPEDIDA”

Abstract

This study is guided by the following research question: in what ways can the practice of bibliotherapy, within the context of an undergraduate Library Science program, contribute to the elaboration of experiences related to female overload and the coloniality of gender, while simultaneously fostering students’ critical development? The general objective is to investigate the contributions of a bibliotherapeutic practice developed in the Library Science undergraduate program, based on the mediated reading of the book Ensaios de Despedida, to critical education and to the elaboration of experiences related to gender and mental health. The specific objectives are: (a) to discuss the theoretical foundations of bibliotherapy as a practice of guided and mediated reading, emphasizing its therapeutic components and its interfaces with mental health; and (b) to analyze the impacts of the bibliotherapeutic experience on students’ perceptions, identifying processes of recognition, emotional elaboration, and problematization of gender relations mobilized through the reading of the book. The study is justified by the need to understand literary reading as a space of care, symbolic elaboration, and critical engagement with gender inequalities in educational contexts. This is a qualitative, exploratory study, based on the application of an online questionnaire after a classroom practice. The results highlight processes of identification and reflection emerging from shared experiences, strengthening critical formation.