Biographical consequences of May 68 activism. Investigating families over two generations: May 68 activists and their children attending two alternative schools (Vitruve and Ange-Guépin) ; Les incidences biographiques du militantisme en Mai 68. Une enquête sur deux générations familiales : des « soixante-huitards » et leurs enfants scolarisés dans deux écoles expérimentales

Abstract

In order to explore the biographical consequences of activism during the political events of May 1968 in France, a sample of matched individuals - who themselves were involved in these events - and their children – educated in alternative schools in Paris and Nantes – was investigated both quantitatively and qualitatively. The focus of our study shifts constantly back and forth between objectivisation (through statistical analysis) and comprehension (based on life accounts' analysis). This thesis is generally concerned with the consequences of individual life trajectories intersecting with political events and the subsequent, potential impacts on the 'second generation' (that of the children). In the first part, we propose a sociogenesis of the dissenting dispositions, having analysed the biographical roots of activism and the various forms of participation in the May 68 events. The second part investigates the biographical consequences of this participation from a longitudinal and process-based point of view, examining post-68 life paths while relying on biographical inflection markers (political, professional and private). In these first two parts, our approach – similar to Doug McAdam's in Freedom Summer – highlights the heterogeneity of generation micro-units, too often confused as a 'May 68 generation', as it discriminates between aspects associated with anterior personal histories and those specifically linked to the various exposures to the events themselves. The third part extends this investigation to the children of May 68 activists in order to identify the impact of the events of May-June 1968 on the 'second generation', looking in particular at counter-cultural forms of socialization at home and at school and the transmission of May 68 heritages across generations. ; Pour explorer les conséquences biographiques de la participation aux événements de Mai-Juin 68, dans un va-et-vient permanent entre effort d'objectivation (par l'analyse statistique) et effort de compréhension (fondé sur l'analyse de ...