A Situation, a Narrative, and a Life History. The Case of Natalia

Gerhard Riemann

doi:10.18778/1733-8077.10.1.02

Authors

Gerhard Riemann Technische Hochschule Nuremberg Georg Simon Ohm, Germany

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1733-8077.10.1.02

Keywords:

Biographical Analysis, Autobiographical Narrative, Trajectories of Suffering, Background Construction, Pre-coda Commentary

Abstract

I will first focus on problems which might emerge in narrative interviews with people who have experienced long-term trajectories of suffering, before discussing the researcher’s specific style of doing this particular biographical interview – a style which is marked by sensibility and considerateness, but might contain some problems nevertheless. Afterwards, I will deal with two formal features of the interviewee’s introductory narrative – a complicated background construction and an extended pre-coda commentary – in order to reveal the analytical significance of these features for a deeper understanding of the interviewee’s life history and her way of making sense of her experiences. The article ends with a discussion of some topics which are relevant for an analytical abstraction.

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Author Biography

Gerhard Riemann, Technische Hochschule Nuremberg Georg Simon Ohm, Germany

Gerhard Riemann, is a sociologist and a professor of Social Work at the Technische Hochschule Georg Simon Ohm in Nuremberg. His main research interests are biographical research, narrative analysis, and the analysis of professional work.

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