The question of generations from the perspective of people born between 1940 and 1950 in the district of Braga, Portugal

Abstract

The aim of this text is to present the results of a study conducted with individuals from the 1940–1950 generation in the district of Braga, Portugal, describing and analysing their life experiences in the domains of family, education, work, leisure, and religion. The first examines the concept of generation, highlighting the reasons for its loss of relevance after having been a central concept in the 1920s and 1930s. The second part describes the experiences, attitudes, and values of the generation under study. It is concluded that individuals of this generation share a set of common experiences and values that are not merely the result of having been born in the same place and at the same time under certain circumstances, but above all of the world they constructed within that context through interaction with others.