Biographies of “Invisible” People Who Transform Their Lives and Enhance Social Transformations Through Dialogic Gatherings

Abstract

This introduction presents the transformative dimension of the Dialogic Gatherings (DG) by briefly describing sixteen articles that use the biographical method to show these profound transformations. Drawing from the experience of the Dialogic Literary Gatherings, which started in 1970, the editor develops a framework for the special issue: the power of DG in changing underprivileged people’s lives, transforming them into leaders of their communities. This biographical description accounts for the main premises of the communicative methodology, such as the egalitarian dialogue, the disappearance of interpretative hierarchy, collective meaning-making and understanding people as agents of social change.