Documenting histories: the professional career of Milton Carlos Mariotti using the life-history method

Abstract Understanding the history of occupational therapy in Brazil through individual and collective trajectories is fundamental, both for the advancement of knowledge production and for professional training and development in the field. This article is based on the life story of Milton Carlos Mariotti, occupational therapist, Senior Professor at the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR). The objective is to document his professional narrative, the legacy of his leadership and his ethical commitment to the development of occupational therapy in Brazil. For that, four occupational therapist professors got together to formulate a semi-structured interview script composed of 34 questions. Based on the responses, the text was organized into four thematic axes: 1) Educational background, 2) Work as an occupational therapist, 3) Academic trajectory and 4) Political militancy. As a result, a historical narrative is presented that documents the history of the teacher's professional life and his contribution to the institutionalization of occupational therapy in the State of Paraná, southern Brazil.