Learning in Life History - psycho-societal interpretation of biographies

Taking its point of departure from some critical remarks about some of the most important recent theorizing of learning, this article presents an alternative framework for theorizing learning as a subjective process in a social and societal context, based on life history research. The key concepts of subjectivity and experience, derived from European critical theory, are briefly introduced with respect to their intellectual background. Based on examples from the author’s research into the professional learning, the article outlines the implications of these concepts in relation to an understanding of emotional aspects of learning in everyday life and to an understanding of knowledge. The pivotal role of language use and language socialisation is explained in brief, and a psychodynamic complement to a language game concept of language use is developed.