This paper outlines the history of the lifeworld tradition since its initiation in the Nordic countries during the 1980s at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.In this presentation, the tradition of the lifeworld approach focuses mainly on doctoral theses within the tradition although it should be noted that publications in the tradition are not limited to only these kinds of writings. Many lifeworld researchers have published extensively in books and journals as well as other forums, and have been enormously successful (...) in the academic world.Although the lifeworld approach largely had its origins in philosophy and education at the University of Gothenburg, it has rapidly spread to other disciplines and universities as well as other countries, even beyond the Nordic regions. The lifeworld approach has seen considerable growth in Europe as well as internationally as it continues to attract proponents and researchers from a broad spectrum of human and social science scholars. (shrink)