Life History Research and Social Movements

Abstract

Life histories are people's histories. They amplify the voices of everyday actors by centering their experiences and interpretation of events. Researchers then carefully weave together these unique experiences with other data sources, including additional interviews, archival and/or documentary data, to construct life histories. Life history research is a useful technique in social movement studies because it develops a version of history that is situated in the lived experiences of those engaging in collective action, emphasizing the role everyday people play in shaping the course of world events. This technique allows researchers to generate rich and textured detail about social processes, understand the intersection between personal narratives and social structures, and focus on individual agency and social context. Life history research captures participant subjectivities while being aware of potential pitfalls such as generalizations and issues of memory recall. This entry examines what life history research is and when it is used. Through an examination of two social movement studies that employ these techniques, we assess the utility of these methods. The entry concludes by discussing potential problems associated with this methodology and offer ways to deal with these issues.