Preparing for Postmodernity

A life, it is assumed, is cut of whole cloth, and its many pieces, with careful scrutiny, can be fitted into proper place. But this writing of a life ... is constantly being created as it is written. Hence the meanings of the pieces change as new patterns are found (Denzin, 1989, p. 20).

The beginning coincides with the end and the end with the beginning - which is the end - for autobiography (like fiction) is an act of ceaseless renewal: the story is never 'told' finally, exhaustively, completely (Elbaz, 1987, p. 13).

Narratives or life stories are a vital source for our studies of the social world in general and teaching in particular. But they are singular, selective and specific (both in time and context). In these senses unless they are complemented by other sources they are of limited value in understanding the patterns of social relations and interactions which comprise the social world. Indeed a primary reliance on narratives or life stories is likely to limit our capacity to understand social context and relationships as well as social and political purposes. Sole reliance on narrative becomes a convenient form of political quietism - we can continue telling our stories (whether as life 'stories' or research 'stories') and our searchlight never shines on the social and political construction of lives and life circumstances. No wonder the narrative and life story have been so successfully sponsored at the height of New Right triumphalism in the west. As we witness the claim that we are at 'the end of history' it's perhaps unsurprising that life stories are being divorced from any sense of history, any sense of the politically and socially constructed nature of the 'circumstances' in which lives are lived and meanings made. Truly 'men make their own history' but also more than ever 'not in circumstances of their own choosing'. We need to capture 'agency' but also 'structure': Life stories but also life histories.

In this sense the distinction between life stories/narratives and life histories become central. The life story comprises the person's account of her/his life (most often delivered orally) at a particular point in time. The life history supplements the life story with data drawn from other peoples accounts, official records and transcripts and a range of historical documentation.

The data then is distinctive but so too are the aspirations of life story and life history. In the first case the intention is to understand the person's view and account of their life, the story they tell about their life. As W.I. Thomas said 'if men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences'. In the life history, the intention is to understand the patterns of social relations, interactions and constructions in which lives are embedded. The life history pushes the question whether private issues are also public matters, the life story individualises and personalises, the life history contextualises and politicises.

In moving from life stories towards life histories we move from singular narration to include other documentary sources and oral testimonies. It is important to view the self as an emergent and changing 'project' not a stable and fixed entity. Over time our view of ourself changes and so therefore do the stories we tell about ourselves. In this sense, it is useful to view self-definition as an ongoing narrative project.

As the self is an ongoing narrative project, we should think more of multiple selves located in time and space. To link with this ongoing narrative project, we have to locate as well as narrate since the latter is a snapshot, a contemporary pinpoint. To locate our ongoing narrative requires sources which develop our social history and social geography of circumstances and in many instances collaboration with others to provide contextual and intertextual commentary. Alongside narration, therefore, we need location and collaboration.

The reasons for location and collaboration arise from two particular features of life stories. First, the life story reflects partial and selective consciousness of subjective story building and self building; and secondly, it is a contemporary pin point, a snapshot at a particular time. Collaboration and location allow us to get a finer sense of the emergent process of self building and story telling and allow us to provide a social context of the time and space in which the story is located.