Biographical Research in the Context of a Historical-Interpretative Sociology

In my paper I will first address the question whether the collection and analysis of narrated or written autobiographies is just one tool among others in sociological qualitative research – as was more or less the case at the beginning of biographical research. Often one gets the impression that claims regarding a diachronic or processual perspective and the interplay or mutual constitution of individuals and society as a specific theoretical foundation are neither recognized nor implemented on the methodological level in biographical research.

I will use this talk to show how combining social-constructivist biographical research with Elias’s figurational sociology can help the researcher to overcome the strong tendency to focus on specific individuals, to look more closely at unequal power chances in different figurations within a particular social setting, and to consider the methodological implications of this approach.