Abstract
The Impact of Life Histories in the Analysis of Global Processes: This article shows the far-reaching impact of research based on the collection of life histories. While the compiling and comparison of life histories, item by item, allows us to construct typologies, the analysis of internal coherence of each life history and the comparison of individual and collective logics permits us to truely treate the complexity of social phenomena and related certain seemingly contradictory processes. To establish the scientific validity of such a procedure, researchers have experimented with different approaches: discourse form analysis, identifying biographical indicators and events, cross comprehension of life histories with other materials, preceding a qualitative survey with a quantitative survey, crossing life histories between each other at the collective membership leve, contextualizing them by situating them within monographies. Life Histories, Comparing Life Histories, Biographical Events, Calenders, Qualitative Research.