READING AS AN EMANCIPATIONAL ACT: LITERATURE, SCHOOL AND JUSTICE IN CITIZENSHIP FORMATION

Abstract

This article aims to reflect on the importance of literary reading in the development of critical readers and citizens in the digital society. Given the technological transformations impacting educational and cultural processes, schools are challenged to rethink their pedagogical practices, promoting access to literature through teacher mediation and the use of digital technologies. The National Common Curricular Base (BNCC, 2018) recognizes literature as a right for all and emphasizes its humanizing and formative dimension. Based on qualitative and bibliographical research, the study analyzes authors such as Antônio Cândido, Paulo Freire, and Tzvetan Todorov and highlights institutional initiatives aimed at democratizing reading, particularly those promoted by the Court of Justice of Pernambuco. Literature is understood here as an instrument of inclusion, emancipation, and the development of critical skills, being essential for the consolidation of civic education. The article also highlights the importance of partnerships between schools and public institutions as a strategy to expand access to books and reading, especially for vulnerable groups. Thus, literature is defended as a pedagogical and social tool, capable of promoting significant transformations in the formation of active, sensitive individuals committed to a more just and pluralistic society.