The interplay between individual lives and society poses many questions for social research:
How
do individuals shape their lives? Which decisions do they take and why?
How does society influence them? How does a person cope with social
change? And how do individuals become actors of social change?
In
sociology, two related theoretical and methodological fields deal with
such questions: Life Course Analysis and Biographical Research.
Whereas
the theory of biography is pointing out that biography is based on
social construction, life course analysis focuses on the individual
conduction of one’s life, that is highly determined by social norms and
interrelations.
The seminar is dealing with a variety of theoretical
questions in respect to biographical research and life course analysis
such as
• the institutionalization of the life course
• theoretical concepts of biography and the life course
• methods of biographical research and life course analysis.
During the seminar, students will read basic texts and explore sociological methods.
- Teacher: Andrea Zemskov-Zuege
- Teacher: Atlanta Ina Beyer
- Teacher: Tatiana Zimenkova