ABSTRACT
In this chapter we demonstrate the importance of the “historicality of families” for the understanding of the processes and trajectories of social mobility, and the production and reproduction of inequalities. We argue that qualitative (although quantifiable) family histories are an important tool to link the individual to social structure. Two methodological arguments are presented: one concerning the quantitative and qualitative approach to the study of social mobility, and the other concerning the unit of analysis used in studies of social mobility and inequalities. We combine the fields of life course and social mobility and seek to show the centrality of family histories to understand (1) social mobility over time, (2) social mobility as a family matter, (3) the relevance of family histories as a methodological tool for understanding about family life and individual mobility, and (4) the dynamic negotiations on class belongings and mobilities within the families (with multi-agent interviews. To this end, we present data from three different pieces of research carried out between 2000 and 2019 (two in Portugal, one in Brazil) that used multifaceted family histories, alongside biographical interviews, life calendar and family trees, and also ethnography and family surveys.
