New and old ferramiu

Balôn as a changing market

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.34024/csr.2024.60.3.19287

Keywords:

Memory, Market, social organization

Abstract

This article deals with memory, in its processes of erasure and rearticulation, as a device for the construction of social relations. From an ethnographic perspective, this is a case study on the production and use of memories of past events and, specifically, the narratives of origin of the Balôn market, a used goods market in Turin (Italy). These are articulated on the basis of the professional figure of the ferramiu, considered "traditional" by traders who belong to two associations. These different versions, considered to be "divided memories" (Portelli, 1991), make up discourses that are used to (de)construct reciprocal legitimacy⁄delegitimacy in a disputed space. This tension contributed to the internal reorganisation of the Balôn and, successively, promoted a split that divided and multiplied the market.

Author Biography

  • Vanessa Durando, Independent researcher

    PhD in Social Anthropology - Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp). She works in the fields of ​​Anthropology (Urban Anthropology, Economic Anthropology, Ethnicity, Immigration, Transnationalism), and ​​Visual Arts (Cinema and Photography), and as an Educator and Educational Consultant.

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Published

2025-02-18

Issue

Vol. 60 No. 3 (2024): September/December

Section

Dossiê: Memória, conflitos e relações

License

All publications in Ciências Sociais em Revista (CSR) are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International - CC BY 4.0, which permits sharing, copying, and redistributing the material in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

How to Cite

New and old ferramiu: Balôn as a changing market. (2025). Ciências Sociais Em Revista, 60(3). https://doi.org/10.34024/csr.2024.60.3.19287