Biographical research as a way to challenge dominant discourses

From a systemic perspective discourses may be considered from one side as a source of stability and from another side as elements exposed to change through the complex interplay of different system levels (micro, meso and macro) where a plurality of actors embody and perform them in different ways. This view entails a complex dynamic in which cohesion and inconsistency in dominant discourses are simultaneusly present. This tension may be particularly visible in autobiographical data where we can find traces of micro-meso and macro dimensions embedded in one's narrations. In this sense life history and biographical research have the possibility to challenge linear and deterministic views and self-fulfilling prophecies.