Representaciones sociales: otra perspectiva de estudio de la violencia *

Background: The consolidation of the modern city -in the sense of understanding its dynamics and its most outstanding problems-reveals the need for the search of other models of interpretation of both the individual and the group’s reality, in accordance with the imperative of constructing a sustainable coexistence project. Methods: With the problem of violence in the city of Medellin (Colombia) as a starting point, the research group on urban violence of the University of Antioquia explored the perspective of Social Representations (SR) in order to understand what’s happening in that aspect. The topic was studied in violent young people under protective measures at the Carlos Lleras Restrepo Youth Attention Center. Results: SR were applied as an alternative path that complements the empiricalanalytical approach and the epidemiological view, which dominate the research on the above-mentioned phenomenon. It is not yet a wide-spread perspective with a theoretical structure capable of resisting an interdisciplinary analysis. Conclusion: This article stems from a first theoretical review on the subject, with ensuing results that will be made public soon.