How do you write life? A study of socialization through the biographical method

Abstract

This article analyzes the process of socialization related to the construction of life histories. The empirical corpus comprises 53 autobiographies of Portuguese workers producedin a national adult education program. The author begins by presenting a theoretical framework for the study of socialization, then he argues that is useful to study the process through the biographical method and uses an autobiography as an example of the analysis. This is followed by an interpretation of the collectiverepresentation of life as a series of stages,separated by rituals as the result of and guiding framework for socialization.