How Many Intersections? Theoretical Synergy as a Rationale for Intersectional Biographical Analysis

Abstract

This article develops an innovative approach to intersectional biographical interviewing for researchers working with highly diverse, partly unknown populations and focusing on systems of intersecting inequality, rather than “groups” or “lists” of intersections. Drawing on fieldwork with Black and Muslim Italian migrants with different class backgrounds, the article discusses theoretical synergy as a tool to redraw analytical boundaries vis-à-vis emergent knowledge of intersecting inequalities, and to connect different analytical dimensions in biographical analysis. Moreover, I introduce field-specific questions as a technique that captures the contextual effects of intersecting inequalities, minimizing the risk of essentialising minority ethnic participants.