Narrative resources and political violence: the life stories of former clandestine militants in Portugal

Abstract

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Political activism across the life course

“…By contrast life history and biographical methods produce rich narrative analyses of the range of stories that activists tell about themselves and their activism. Indeed, as Da Silva (2017), and others (Taft, 2017) have argued narrative itself becomes a resource for making sense and reflecting on one's activism. Meanwhile, ethnographic approaches and the practice of spending time in the field enable researchers to capture children and adults' fleeting and ephemeral encounters with public life such as in the case of political talk in the home (Nolas et al, 2017b).…”

“…While noted to be ambiguous (Yang, 2016), the term activism has been used to refer to high-cost, high-risk protests and revolutionary movements, such as participation in the clandestine militant movements in Portugal (Da Silva, 2017), as well as the everyday practices of environmental protection (Walker, 2017). In relation to such definitions, voting booths, streets, empty buildings and public squares are all familiar sites of political activism.…”

“…Important though these influences are known to be (Pancer, 2015), a focus on people's various relationships to time (age, life course, and generation), its experience and passage provides insights into the vicissitudes of life and political activism alike. These are insights that can account for both continuity and change in political orientations (Linden & Klandermans, 2007), the pathways in and out of activism or voluntary action (Fisher, 2012) and/or what Jones (2017) calls 'intermittent activism': the ways in which lives criss-cross 'resonant sites of activism' (Rosen, 2017) (see also Taft, 2017 andDa Silva, 2017).…”

Political Activism across the Life Course

“…Important though these influences are known to be (Pancer, 2015), a focus on people's various relationships to time (age, life course, and generation), its experience and passage provides insights into the vicissitudes of life and political activism alike. These are insights that can account for both continuity and change in political orientations (Linden & Klandermans, 2007), the pathways in and out of activism or voluntary action (Fisher, 2012) and/or what Jones (2017) calls 'intermittent activism': the ways in which lives criss-cross 'resonant sites of activism' (Rosen, 2017) (see also Taft, 2017 andDa Silva, 2017).…”

“…While noted to be ambiguous (Yang, 2016), the term activism has been used to refer to high-cost, high-risk protests and revolutionary movements, such as participation in the clandestine militant movements in Portugal (Da Silva, 2017), as well as the everyday practices of environmental protection (Walker, 2017). In relation to such definitions, voting booths, streets, empty buildings and public squares are all familiar sites of political activism.…”