Theorising learning in life history: A psychosocietal approach

Taking its point of departure from some critical remarks about some of the most important recent theorising of learning, this article presents an alternative framework for theorising 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 the author's research into the professional learning of general practitioners, 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.