Biographie und "modernisierte Moderne": Überlegungen zum vorgeblichen "Zerfall" des Sozialen

"The following essay deals with processes of 'biographising' in modernised societies. Particular attention is paid to the function of institutions in generating biographies. Their significance for the emergence of biographical reflexivity in early modern times seems today to have declined as a result of a crisis of their function as biographical 'watch-words'. The focal point of the article is the…