Historični seminar 6

Uredili Katarina Keber in Katarina Šter

Ljubljana 2008

HISTORIČNISEMINAR6 Uredniški odbor KatarinaKeber,KatarinaŠter,MojcaŽagarKarer

Znanstvena monografija je recenzirana.

Uredili Katarina Keber in Katarina Šter Jezikovni pregled MojcaŽagarKarerinHelenaDobrovoljc Oblikovanje MilojkaŽalikHuzjan Prelom Brane Vidmar

Založnik ZaložbaZRC,ZRCSAZU Zanj Oto Luthar Glavni urednik VojislavLikar

Načindostopa(URL):http://hs.zrc-sazu.si/eknjiga/ISBNtiskaneizdaje:978-961-254-059-3

CIP-KataložnizapisopublikacijiNarodnainuniverzitetnaknjižnica,Ljubljana

930.85(082)930.1(082)

HISTORIČNIseminar6[Elektronskivir]/urediliKatarinaKeberinKatarinaŠter.-Ljubljana:ZaložbaZRC,ZRCSAZU,2008

ISBN978-961-254-060-91.Keber,Katarina237890816

©2008,ZaložbaZRC,ZRCSAZU

Vsepravicepridržane.Nobendelteizdajenesmebitireproduciran,shranjenaliprepisanvkaterikolioblikioz.nakaterikolinačin,bodisielektronsko,mehansko,sfotokopiranjem,snemanjemalikakodrugače,brezpredhodnegapisnegadovoljenjalastnikovavtorskihpravic(copyrighta).

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AbstrAct

Drawing from the SOSTRIS project (Social Strategies in Risk Society, 1996–9),thepaperfocusesonthecomparingofcasesandtheformulatingof policy proposals, two later stages of biographical research. It centreson thecase studyofSteven,anunemployedgraduate, secondgenerationimmigrantinBritain.

key Words

biographicalmethods,comparingcases,policyimpact

Izvleček

Prispevek,kisevsebinskonaslanjanaprojektSOSTRIS(Socialnestrategijevdružbitveganja,1996–1999),seosredotočanaprimerjavoštudijprimerovin formuliranje predlogov strategij, dveh kasnejših stadijev biografskeraziskave.Osredišča senavzorčnoštudijoStevena,brezposelnegadiplo-miranegaimigrantadrugegeneracijevBritaniji.

ključne besede

Biografskemetode,primerjanještudijprimerov,vplivtaktike

InthispaperIfocusonthelaterstagesinbiographicalresearchofcomparingcasesandhavingapolicyimpact.1Thisisbecausethesestagesoftenreceiveshortshrift,notleastbecausetheearlystepsofcaseanalysiscanbesocaptivatingandtimeconsuming.Keyphasesinbiographicalmethodscompriseinterviewing,caseanalysis,compar-

* Dr.PrueChamberlayne,VisitingSeniorResearchFellow,FacultyofHealthandSo-cialCareattheOpenUniversity,MiltonKeynes,UK/24aPrincesAvenue,LondonN103LR

p.m.chamberlayne@open.ac.uk1 The talkpreceded twointensive trainingcourses in interviewingandanalysisofbiographical interviews. The biographicalmethod concerned follows procedureselaboratedbyGabrieleRosenthalandtaughtbyQuatext inBerlin.InBritain themethodhasbecomeknownasbiographic-narrativeinterpretivemethod(BNIM)asexpoundedinWengraf,Qualitative research interviewing and his Short guide.

Comparing cases and policy relevance: squeezing the juice from

biographical methodsPrue cHAMberlAyne*

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ingcases,theorisingfromcases,makingpolicyproposals.Eachstageisfullof“juice”,andthe laterones tendtoremainunder-squeezed.This is seen at conferences,where case studies, detailed and fasci-nating in themselves, areoftenunder-interpreted in termsof socialsciencetheoryorpolicyimplications.Asinplanning,beginningwiththe final goal andworking backwards ensures consideration of thewholeprocess.

The paper mainly draws on the SOSTRIS project (Social Strategies in Risk Society,1996–9),andfallsintothefollowingsec-tions:1. ourmodeofworking,andconsiderationsoftime2. ways inwhichcross-culturaldifferences influencepolicycon-

textsandreceptivitytobiographicalapproaches3. thepurposeandprocessofcomparingcases,maintainingtheir

gestalt4. a case example, showing the emergence of social issues from

caseparticularities5. policyissuesemergingfromthecasestudy

Timeconsiderations

TheSOSTRISprojectexploredwhetherGiddens’theoriesofin-dividualisation inmodernsocietyandBeck’s theoryof“risk”wereborneoutinWesternEuropeans’experienceofsocialtransformation.2 Theresearchfocusedonbiographicalinterviewswithsixsocialgroupsinsevencountries(unemployedgraduates,earlyretired,loneparents,unemployed youth, migrants and ethnic minorities, ex-traditionalworkers;inFrance,Germany,Greece,Italy,Spain,Sweden,UK).

Ourseventeamsmetthreetimesayear,withanenjoyableandproductivetimeinworkshops,interpretingeachothers’casesinorderto alignourmethodologies, and then comparing cases. In the thirdyearweinvestigatedagenciesconsideredinnovativeintacklingsocialexclusionineachcountry.Ournarrativeapproachtothe“biography”ofeachorganisationwaswarmlyreceivedbytheagenciesthemselves,andled to invitationsforfurthercollaboration.Andyetwerealisedafterwardsthatwehadneededthatthirdyeartocontinuecomparingandtheorisingourinitialbiographicalcases,andtoshapeandpresent

2 SeeBiography and social exclusion in Europe, SOSTRIS Final Report and SOS-TRIS Working Papers.FurtherchaptersontheSOSTRISprojectarelistedinRefer-encesandliterature.

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ourpolicyproposals.3The rich researchmaterialneededmore timeforimaginative,collaborativethinking.WeprioritisedtheproductionofsixWorking Papersofbiographicalcasestudymaterials,butthisrobbedtimeforjournalarticlesandthedevelopmentofthebook.

Cross-culturaldifferences

Biographicalmethodsareimportantforsocialpolicyforseveralkeyreasons:a)theyreconnectpolicywithlivedrealitiesandexperi-ence; b) they can focus attention on the crucial interfaces betweenserviceusersandprofessionals;c)theylinkthepersonalandtheso-cial,operationalisingandexploringtheoriesofagencyandstructure– throughout the 1990s Giddens produced books on structurationtheory,withoutanyfollow-upinempiricaldata.ThesearepertinentassetsforpolicyresearchacrossEurope.

On theother handdifferent countries at different epochshavegreater and lesser degrees of receptivity to biographical methods,depending on their sociological and policy cultures and traditions.Effectivecrossculturalcollaborationneedstoappreciateandgrapplewiththesedifferences.4

BritainInBritainthereisaparticulardegreeofclashbetweenthecom-

plex,subtlematerialproducedbybiographicalmethodsandtheevi-dence-basedtargeted-outputcultureofgovernmentregulation.Britishregulatoryframeworkscompriseanextremestraitjacket–producingmanyofthedishonestiesanddistortionsthatbecamecharacteristicofcentrallyplannedsystems.AnotherrecentfeatureofUKpoliticshasbeentoenhanceconsumers,dividingoffserviceusersfromprofes-sionals,aspartoftheprojectofundermininganddemoralisingpublicservices.5Onthebrighterside,therearesignsthatthetideisturning,againsttheexcessoftestinginschools,forexample.MoreoverBritishindividualismdoes entail interest in complex formsof subjectivity.

3 WhetherwewouldhavegotEUfundingifwehadleftoutthesecondstageisamootpoint.Weallprobably“pack”applicationsinordertoimpressfunders.

4 WebroachedthisintheSOSTRISprojectbyeachteamproducingapaperonhowtheconceptofsocialexclusionsatwithinandhadevolvedwithintheirsociologicaltradition.SeeSOSTRIS Working Paper I.We also approached itmore experien-tially,insmallgroupseachindividualrecountinganexperienceinwhichheorshehadpersonallyfeltsociallyexcluded.Thatrevealedafascinatingmixofpersonal,socialandculturalfactors.

5 Howthisisreflected,eveninbiographicalandoralhistoryresearch,isexploredin:Apitzschetal.,Introduction.

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In the 1990s, when sociology was dominated by post-structuralistinterest in discourse and representation, the Cultures of Care6 and SOSTRIS projectsmet hostile accusations of being “realist”.Afterall“theauthorwasdead”.Butgradually“identity”grewininterest,andthentheacting,feeling,experiencing,embodied,evendefendedsubject,withinnerandouterworlds.

There is probably a tendency across countries for social policythinkingtobedominatedbyquantitativemindsetswhichareresistanttoin-depthqualitativemethods.Yet,asMichaelRustinarguesinThe turn to biographical methods,law,medicineandpoliticshavealwaysreliedoncase studies.7No-oneobjects to the ideaofhuman truth inplays,novelsorpoetry.Theproblem in social sciencedates from itsseparationfromthehumanitiesinfavourofanalignmentwithnaturalscience.Inthe1960sinBritainadocumentary,casestudy-basedfilmon homelessness called Cathy come home,becamearesoundingiconthatstirredthenationalconscience.Thatisthekindofimpactweneedtoachievewithbiographicalmethods.Theopportunitiesaregreatlyen-hancedwithdigitaltechnology.CurrentlyintheUKandtheUSthereisexcitedinterestinnewpresentationalformsusingperformance,dance,graphics,multi-media.8Thechallenge,itseemstome,istosafeguardthedepthandcomplexityofcasestudymaterialinsuchmethods.

France and GermanyFromthevantagepointofindividualismwithinBritishneo-lib-

eralismthemorerelationalconceptsofSocialEuropeseemenviable.EmphasisonthestateinFrancehasledtomorefocusonprofessionalculturesandcoordination.Frenchconceptssuchasanimation,proxi-mity,socialsolidarity,habitusareallhospitabletobiographicalcon-cepts,asare,inGermany,hermeneuticsandtheinteractivefocusofsocialpedagogy,Vergesellschaftung,andmorespecificallybiographi-caltermssuchasbiographicity,biographicalworkandunlivedlives.Thedifficultyfor“outsiders”ofunderstandingsuchconceptspointsto another problem, that of cross-cultural communication in socialscience.(Imyselfhavedifficultyunderstanding“processstructures”,forinstance,atermwidelyusedinGermanbiographicalwork.)

Preparing thecollectionBiographical methods and professional practiceledmetorealisesomekeydifferencesbetweenGermanyand

6 An ESRC supported project 1992–4. See Chamberlayne and King,Cultures of care.

7 Rustin,Reflectionsonthebiographicalturn.8 AparticularlylivelynetworkisrunbyKipJonesatBournemouthUniversity,‹per-formsocsci@jiscmail.ac.uk›.

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Britain inpolicyhospitality tobiographicalmethods.9 InGermanyatthat time therewasrenewedemphasison“professionalism” insocialworkaspivotedonthesubtlepointofinteractionbetweenclientandcli-ent.Emphasisoninteractionisclearinthefollowingthreeexamples:

Praxis – the objective and non-reducible reality of a concreteindividuated and unique life form, which becomes autonomous bysolvingitsownuniquecrises10…professionalsandtheirclientsforminga reciprocallybindingworking alliance inorder to solve a specificpersonalcrisis11…ahierarchicalsituationinwhichneverthelessthefreeconsentandcollaborationoftheclientisregardedasnecessary.12

Biographicity– creativelyappreciatingone’sown,oftenhiddenbiographicalresourcesandaspirations,tappingintothemandrealis-ing them in newways.13 This requires different professional skills,identitiesandorganizationalstructures.

Newinteractionorder/regime– personalbiographiesofman-agers,professionalsandclientswithinagivenorganisationareall“in-stitutionalisedinteractionhistories”.Accordingly,biographisingliesattheheartofinstitutionalandorganisationaltransformations.14

Comparing cases

Howtocomparecaseswassomethingwehadtolearnhowtodo,somethingwepuzzledoveragreatdealatfirst.Afterall,howdoyoucomparediamonds?

Thematiccomparisonsruntheriskofdisaggregatingthegestalt, ashappenswithsuchprogrammesasNudistorAtlas-ti.Ourapproachhas rather been to think the whole case, to hold the whole in mind, in itsbroadcharacter,itsdynamicandinitsdetail.Andinsteadofwork-ingfromwrittencasestudies(thoughwehavethosetoo),welearnedtopresentcasesverballyanddiagrammaticallytoeachother,twobytwo.Insmallgroupswethenbrain-stormedandfreeassociatedaboutthedifferencesandsimilarities.Nowwhenwedothisintrainingweencouragegroupstothinkinvisualimages,andfollowingaworkshoponaparticularcaseweaskparticipantstowritedownthereandthentheirindividualsummariessofar.People’scapacitytothinkthewholeinconsiderablesubtletyisremarkable,asistheinterviewee’scapacity

9 Biographical methods and professional practice.10 Oevermann,A revised theoretical model,p.1.11 Biographical methods and professional practice.12 Schütze,OrganisationszwängeundhoheitsstaatlicheRahmenbedingungen,p.193.13 AlheitandDausien,The‘doubleface’oflife-longlearning,pp.15–16.14 Hanses,Soziale Arbeit;RoehrandMaurer-Hein,BiographieundsozialeArbeit.

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tocraftanimprovisedaccountofcomplexexperiencesthroughhisorherlife.

Soat thepointofcomparisonweurgepeople to thinkwith thegestaltordynamicofthecase,andtokeepmovingbetweentheparticu-laritiesandthewhole.Attimeswealsousedaspirations,opportunities,constraintsandresourcesasachecklistorframeforcomparison.

Weelaboratedthisapproachinourrecentevaluationofanartsbased community centre.15Herewe felt that kite-flying (taking se-riouslythewildestcreativeideas)andallowingtimeforemergence,togetherwithpatienceandtrust,werecentraltotheCentre’sabilityto reproduce its culture in a counterposed regulatory environment.Observingthesedynamicsandreadingaboutartisticprocessledustoappreciatemoretheimaginativedimensioninresearchinterpretation.“Syncretistic thinking” inart, asdescribedbyEhrenzweig,16delaysarrivingatthegestalt in order to think the whole better, and uses the subjectiveresponsesofresearchersasdata, takingtimetodwellonprimaryprocess– meaninggutreactions.17

When we were analysing individual cases in the SOSTRISproject, our partners complained that they were too psychological.During theCultures ofCare project,AnnetteKing and I similarlydespairedatachievingthemorestructuralpurposesof theproject.18 However,whenwebegantocomparewholecasestheproblemvan-ished,becauseexactlythosestructuraldifferencessprangintoview.

AdistinctivefeatureofBNIMliesintheuseofpanelstokick-startprocessesofinterpretation.19Panelsalsoplayacrucialroleintheholisticcomparingofcases–asIhopehasbecomeclear.

CasestudyofSteven

Mypurposeinpresentingabiographicalcasestudyistwofold:a)toshowhowsuchacasestudyrevealstheintertwiningofthepersonalandthesocial,andb)todemonstratetheemergenceofpolicyissuesfromsuchmaterial.20

15 Froggettetal.,Integrated practice.16 Ehrenzweig,The hidden order of art.17 SeeChamberlayne,Inter-subjectivityinbiographicalmethods;Froggettetal.,Inte-

grated practice.18 IntheCulturesofCareproject,homecaringservedasawindowontheinformalsphereofwelfareindifferentwelfareregimes.ChamberlayneandKing,Cultures of care.

19 FordetailsofinterpretationproceduresseeWengraf,Short guide.20 Foranaccountofhowwetheorisedthiscasebycomparingitwithtwoothers,seeChamberlayne,Second-generationtransculturallives.

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Stevenwasbornin1970inLondon.HeisAfro-Caribbeanandwas interviewed as anunemployedgraduate in 1997 as part of theSOSTRISproject.He isnotstrictlyunemployed,butneitherhasheachievedstableemploymentcommensuratewithhisdegree.HeisareflectivecharacterrecountinghisBildungsroman– thetravailsofasecond generation blackBritish youngmanmoving through child-hood,teenage,studentandyoungadultyearsinthecontextofBritaininthe1970s,80sand90s.Stillfindinghisownwayinlife,hevividlydepictshismilestoneexperiencesanddecisions.

Steven’schallengeistopioneeranindependentandtransculturalalternativetohisparents’firstgenerationstrategyofdefiantprotec-tionism,whichhasbeenbasedon“removal”andself-reliance–asIwillshow.Stevenstudiedgraphicdesignandisseekingentrytothemediaindustry,whichrequiresflexible,multi-culturalteamwork.

Steven’s parents worked in the 1960s and 1970s in LondonUnderground,aunionisedsetting,atatimeofdeterminedstrugglesagainstracialdiscriminationineducationinBritain.Theyweremar-riedseveralyearsbefore their childrenwereborn,andhadaneph-ewlivingwith themwhomtheysentback to theCaribbean,on thegroundsthatafterthreeyearsheknewlessthanwhenhearrived–theschoolonlyencouragedhim in sport.This threatof removalhangsoverSteven,whosemotherwasdecisive:From the time that I was born her whole idea was, well, I’m not mucking about with you.21

When teachersbegan to sayStevenwasdisruptive (lettingoffstinkbombsandsettingfire toaChristmas tree),hewasmoved toaprivateblackchurchschool(allblackkidsandteachers),whereheleaptahead.Hewasbrightandartistic,andfascinatedbysciencefic-tion.At13,whenhisfriendsabandonedajointSci-fimagazineproject,hismotheradvisedhimtocarryonalone.Buthisparentswerealsonegotiators.WhenStevenbecamefascinatedbyreligiousandphilo-sophical questions, his teacher protested,Oh stop questioning, just believe.Hisparentsandotherteacherscomplained,andStevenwasinvitedtowriteanarticlefortheschoolmagazine,whichwasone of the biggest experiences.

ItisinterestinghowStevenspeaksofhisparents.Althoughhismotherisdecisive,sheisnotdomineering.Shegiveshimtimetoreachhisownconclusions,andheisfondandappreciativeofbothofthem:

She’s not like, well, if you don’t do this, this is going to happen to you if you don’t do. She’s never been like that with me at all. ... ‘cos like most things she says it takes me a while to kind of, erm, get ‘em. But no, there’s never any

21 Mucking aboutmeanssloppilytakingchances.

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pressure from Mum and Dad … he’s like -, he’s just not as vocal, that’s all. He worries.

AtcollegeStevengraphicallydescribestheprocessofenteringamixedenvironment, inwhichdifferentgroupsstucktogether,andhowhemakesfriendswithawhitestudent:

I was fascinated by him, I don’t know why ... I was just like,“oh, you col-lect Science Fiction”, he was like “oh, yeah, yeah”, and then I started telling him what I liked and he goes “oh, that’s crap, that’s rubbish”. But instead of doing like my usual I’d be – I’d have just walked off or something but I just sat there and we just ended up talking, and even though we had totally oppos-ing views on a lot of things it was just really fun being able to talk to him … And now I’ve got such a mixed bag of friends. It is unbelievable.

Facedbyaswitchinthedegreecoursetoamarketorientation,Steven holds out for his own creative interests, which lowers hismarks.Thesecondyearadoptsalooserstudyapproach,whichSfindslike swimming in jelly.Afterhisdegreeheisshockedbythedifficultyofgettingajob.It was like, well, okay, what experience have you got? Workingforasciencefictionbookseller,hewasgivencleaningjobsinanunheatedwarehouse.Whenhewassackedfollowing‘flu’(influ-enza),hismotherranguptoprotest.Aboutthathesays:

I really wanted to feel bad about the fact that I’d lost this job but I just did – I tried so hard to make myself feel really bad and I didn’t. It was really amazing. I was – I was more scared of the fact that I didn’t feel bad about it.

Thisseemedaturningpointtoastrongersenseofself:hecouldtrydifferentstrategiesandfindsolutions.Hemanagedtocombineaninterviewingjobataresearchagencywithpursuingsciencefiction.Hegotonwellwithcolleaguesandsupervisorswhatevertheirethnicbackground.So,prettymuchonhisown,hehasmade somemajortransitions:towardsmulticulturalism,toopenlearning,andinrecon-cilingcreativeandmarketrealitiesinhisstudiesandinthejobmarket.Hedid get ill in the process, especiallywith a phobia of the tube22 inthesecondyearofuniversity,whichheonlymentionsinpassing.HisparentsworkedintheLondonundergroundrailway,sothephobiamayhaverelatedtothestruggletobecomeindependentofthem.AsresearcherswealsoreflectedonLondonundergroundasametaphor

22 Thetube meanstheundergroundrailwayinLondon.(Footnoteaddedbytheedi-tor.)

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formovingoninlife,requiringtrustthatthereisafullyplannedandfunctioningsystem,thattherewillbeguidanceatdecisivepoints,thattherewillbewaysofdealingwithunforeseenproblems–all thesethingsresoundinglymissinginhisuniversityexperience.

Policyimplications

LikemanyothersintheSOSTRISproject,anddespitehisstrongfamilybacking,Stevenisnotwellsupportedbymentorsoramoralcommunity.Manyof theSOSTRIScasespointed to theabsenceorlossofcollectivestructuresinmakinglifetransitions,thelackofandneed for supportive mentors and political discourse, for collectivescripts,sincemanypeopleareinsimilarsituations.AsBaumannsays:People no longer notice that their isolation is a mass sentence, that individualisation is the citizen’s worst enemy, emptying the agora.23Atthesametimetheseindividualsarepioneeringsocialchange.

Surprisingly,Stevendoesnot talkaboutracism,althoughheismostcertainlyconfrontedandsurroundedbyit.Wewonderedifhebelongstoagenerationthatpridesitselfonself-responsibilityandre-fusalofvictimhood? Is racismalso toopainful andcomplicated totalkabout,involvingfear,anger,envyandshame,aboutwhich,again,policyhasnodiscourse.Isthisworseforthesecondthanforthefirstgeneration?Wouldhehavetalkeddifferentlytoablackinterviewer?

TheSOSTRISprojectconcludesthatifsocialprofessionalsaretohelppeopletofindtheirownwayinsocietytheyhavetounderstandtheinnerandoutersocialandculturalworldsoftheirclients.NumaMurard(ourSOSTRISFrenchpartner)saysthatyoungpeopleneedtofindasparkwhichwilllightthewaybetweentheirfamilyandclassmilieu, and the publicworld,whichhaveoften becomevery dislo-cated,andthatitcantakealotofcouragetotakesuchsteps.24Stevengivesusaneloquentaccountofthebiographicalworkinvolved.

The policy conclusions of the SOSTRIS project had much incommonwithotherEuropeanresearchonlifetransitionsandlifelonglearning,muchofwhichhasusedbiographicalorlifestoryapproach-es.25Someofourfindingssurprisedus,suchasthefactthatlonepar-entsseemedmostlyconcernedwithpartnershipissues,andcomefromfamilieswithatrans-generationalpatternofabsentfathers,whether

23 Baumann, Liquid modernity,p.41.24 Murard,Guiltyvictims.25 Foronesuchproject,SEM(Self-EmploymentofMigrantWomen), seeApitzsch,Balancingprecariouswork;Kontos,Considerationsonthebiographicalembedded-ness;andtheSpecialIssueoftheInternational Review of SociologyonSEM.

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fromwar,death,divorceorillegitimacy,sothatnegotiatingpartner-shipswasmoreofaproblemthanparentingper se.Manyofourfind-ingsspannedoursixsocialgroupssuchas the fact that theerosionofcollectivestructuresandsupportswasindividualisingimaginativeworldsandhorizons.Thedislocationbetweenpoliticaldiscourseandpeople’s lifeworldsmeant that theyweremakingunscripted trans-formations,feelingisolateddespitebeingincommonsituations.Weadvocatedmoresupportiveandappreciativepoliticaldiscourse,thatwouldrecognisethepioneeringnatureofpeople’slives.

Conclusion

ConclusionsfromtheSOSTRISprojectarewrittenupinthefi-nal chapterof thebookBiography and social exclusion in Europe: experiences and life journeys.26 The chapter aims to encourage thegrounding of theoretical concepts in social policy teaching in firsthandexperiencethroughcasestudies.Wehopedalsotogainanedgewithpolicymakersandpoliticians,butinthisweneededconsultationandguidance,forexamplefromscientificofficersinBrussels.Sincethenmeasureshavebeenputinplacetofacilitatedialoguebetweenprojects,andtosupportprocessesofdisseminationandexploitation.Gainingaccesstopolicymakersisanarcaneartinmostsocieties,oneforwhichpossibilitiesvarygreatly,asIsuggestedearlier.

IhopeIhaveconveyedthatwearrivedatourconclusionsfromcomparingcases,ratherthanfromindividualcasesper se.Veryoftenonecasecanbewrittenuptoexemplifybroaderpoints,andindeed,agreatadvantageofthesinglecaseliesinitscapacitytomoveanden-gageanaudience.Policymakersandpoliticiansneedtobemoved!!!

Ibeganbymakingapleaforbalancingthetimebetweenvari-ousstagesintheresearchprocess,allowingenoughattentiontothelaterphases.Thismethodisoftenthoughttobetootime-consuming.Actually“thinkingthewhole”oftengetstotheheartofthingsprettyrapidly.

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tive and semi-structured methods.London:Sage,2001.Wengraf, Tom: Short guide to biographic-narrative interpretive

method (BNIM),2007.Availablefrom‹tom@tomwengraf.com›.

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Povzetek

Prispevekseposvečaprimerjanjuštudijprimerovterformulira-njupredlogovpolitičnestrategije,dvehpoznejšihstadijevbiografskeraziskave,sčimerželipoudariti,da jeslednjimapotrebnonamenitidovoljčasa.Preučujetudisprejemljivostdostopnihsociološkihinpo-litičnihkonceptovzabiografskipristoptakonalokalnikotnaevrop-skiravni,terizziv,kigaholističnabiografskaraziskavavnastajanjupredstavljadominantnirevizijskikulturi.Primerjanještudijprimerovlahkoopišemokotbogatprocesvnastajanju,vkateremseprepletajoempiričnimidetajliinsinkretističnomišljenje,rezultatipasoodvisnitakoodnaraveposameznegaprimerakotoddomišljijeraziskovalca.27 Prispevek,kičrpaizprojektaSOSTRIS(Socialnestrategijevdruž-bi tveganja, 1996–1999), se osredotoča na študijo primera Stevena,nezaposlenegadiplomiranegaimigrantadrugegeneracijevBritaniji.Študijavbiografskemmaterialuprikazujevzajemnoigroosebnegaindružbenegatermočiinstrukture.ImplikacijestrategijizStevenovegaprimeraso–skupajssplošnejšimizaključkiostrategijah–vzetiizknjigeprojektaSOSTRISznaslovomBiography and social exclusion in Europe(BiografijaindružbenoizključevanjevEvropi).28

27 Ehrenzweig,The hidden order of art.28 Biography and social exclusion in Europe.

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