This article is based on an empirical research project of social nature that analyzes the meanings students of medicine attribute to the groupings formed based on their initiative in a public university and discusses the relationship between this space and the development of citizenship in a consumption society in which important movements are taking place. The empirical material was obtained from observations made in several scenarios experienced by the students and from semi-structured interviews carried out among students of medicine, the theoretical reference for which were notions of critical education and post-structuralism. The studies reveal parties, events, and celebrations, largely visible and strongly mercantilist social practices, are not hegemonic in the university space. There are also study groups, religious gatherings, debates on racial and sexual choice affirmation, community activities and scientific events, even though less visible and prestigious. In this context, academic center and sports centers, in addition to their respective purposes of political and academic engagement and of organizing sporting events, are important spaces for daily experiences and to bring students from different undergraduate periods. Based on these results, we discuss aspects of the relationship to be established between these spaces and the university curriculum, Considering values of solidarity, liberty, and social obligations.
social practices; citizenship; identities; medical education