Life Stories Embedded in Figurations and DiscoursesResearch into biography has historically focused almost wholly on the lives of people in the wealthier nations of the Global North. This book corrects that with a focus on the biographical histories of people—seen as part of larger groups or collectives, whether religious or political—from the Global South, with a particular focus on Africa and the Middle East. Taking the perspective of biographical research and figurational sociology, the essays gathered here break new ground in the study of biography.

Lange hat sich die soziologische Biografieforschung ganz überwiegend auf Menschen konzentriert, die im "globalen Norden" leben. Dieser Band ist ein Beitrag zu den jüngeren Bemühungen, diese viel zu enge Perspektive aufzuheben. Er zielt auf die Lebensgeschichten und Lebensverläufe von Menschen aus Afrika und dem Nahen Osten. Dabei stehen die biografischen und sozio-geschichtlichen Verflechtungen mit anderen Menschen und anderen gesellschaftlichen Gruppierungen im Mittelpunkt.

ContentsPreface 7Introduction 9Gabriele Rosenthal and Artur BognerBiographies-Discourses-Figurations: Methodological considerations from the perspectives of social constructivism and figurational sociology 15Artur Bogner and Gabriele RosenthalFamilial and life (hi)stories of former child soldiers of the LRA in northern Uganda 50Artur Bogner, Gabriele Rosenthal and Josephine SchmiereckIllegalized migration courses from the perspective of biographical research and figurational sociology: The land border between Spainand Morocco 103Gabriele Rosenthal, Eva Bahl and Arne WormCivil war and the figurations of illegalized migration: Biographies of Syrian migrants coming to the European Union 160Arne WormPrecarious transnational biographies: Moroccan juveniles in the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla 185Eva BahlA mixed family of long-time residents and internal migrants in East Jerusalem: The established-outsider figuration of 'Hebronites' and 'Jerusalemite families' in the context of the Israeli occupation 209Johannes BeckerToward a renewed marginalization of the Palestinian refugees? Transformations of we-images, patterns of interpretation and established-outsider relations in the Palestinian society of the West Bank since the 1970s 236Hendrik HinrichsenPalestinian women in Haifa-Resistance as empowerment 258Nicole WitteTranscription symbols 281Works cited 282About the authors 306Index 309