Life history and personal narrative: theoretical and methodological issues relevant to research and evaluation in refugee contexts

There are theoretical and methodological issues around life history and personal narrative that need careful and critical consideration before using these approaches. This paper aims to set out some of these issues, primarily from an anthropological perspective. Questions that will be raised are for example: to what extent is a life history the subjective interpretation of someone’s life or an accurate account of the past? How much does the presence of the interviewer affect what is said? Is genre important for shaping the way people speak about their lives? Are these approaches going to be suitable for use in all refugee contexts?