Experienced Life and Narrated Life Story

Gabriele Rosenthal is a sociologist and professor emerita of qualitative methodology at the Institute of Methods and Methodological Principles in the Social Sciences at the University of Göttingen in Germany.

• ContentsPreface to the new edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Preliminary note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191.1 Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191.2 What is the “benefit” of applying Gestalt theory to life storiesand life histories? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282. On the Gestalt nature of experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332.1 That which is presented to the observer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332.2 The intention of the agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 442.3 The formal organization of what is presented . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463. On the Gestalt nature of memory and narrative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 733.1 Experience – Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 733.2 Memory – Narration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 884. On the Gestalt of narrated life stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 994.1 Biographical preconditions for shaping a life narrativeas a Gestalt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 994.2 The simple grasping of orderedness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1274.3 Orderedness after biographical turning points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1304.4 Formal factors for Gestalt connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1405. The healing effect of biographical narration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1615.1 The ambiguous Gestalt of the experienced life history . . . . . . . . . 1615.2 The healing effect of life narratives for survivors of the Shoah . . 1666. Methodological implications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1796.1 Principles of interviewing to obtain a biographical narrative . . 1796.2 Principles of a reconstructive case analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1987. Biographies – Discourses – Figurations: Social-constructivist andfigurational biographical researchArtur Bogner & Gabriele Rosenthal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2177.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2187.2 Commonalities and differences between biographical researchand figurational sociology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2207.3 Discourses as an intermediary element? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2307.4 Voices of established and outsiders in Palestine and Uganda . . 2427.5 Conclusion: methodological consequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253Transcription symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253Criteria to define the sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257