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Биографический метод и критический дискурс-анализ: перспективы сочетания
At first glance, biographical methods in sociology on the one hand and critical discourse analysis on the other hand occupy opposite positions on the structure-agency spectrum. While biographical sociology assumes great agency on the side of interviewees and examines an interview as text, critical discourse analysis focuses on texts produced in specific institutional frameworks. This paper examines the possibilities and limitations for combining these two approaches in a research project. First, the author juxtaposes the underlying assumptions of biographical research as done by Gabriele Rosenthal and the foundations of critical discourse analysis as done by Siegfried Jäger. Next, the author presents an example of an empirical situation where a combination of the approaches can be methodologically sound for a qualitative research project. The author thus offers a methodological argument for combining biographical sociology with critical discourse analysis, illustrating the merits of such a mixed approach with the example of a study on biographies of Russian-Germans and discourses which surround Russian-German policies in Germany.