Summary
Contents
Subject index
This much-needed book provides a systematic introduction, both conceptual and applied, to the sociology of the professions. Keith Macdonald guides the reader through the chief sociological approaches to the professions, addressing their strengths and weaknesses. The discussion is richly illustrated by examples from and comparisons between the professions in Britain, the United States and Europe, relating their development to their cultural context. The social exclusivity that professions aim for is discussed in relation to social stratification, patriarchy and knowledge, and is thoroughly illustrated by reference to examples from medicine and other established professions, such as law and architecture. The themes of the bo
Knowledge and the Professions
Knowledge and the Professions
An emphasis on knowledge as a ‘core generating trait’ of professionalism (Halliday, 1987: 29) is to be found in all sociological treatments of the professions and is certainly endorsed by recent writers on the topic such as Larson (1977: 40), Abbott (1988: 9) and others. Sociologists generally take a model of rational, formalized scientific knowledge as their starting point in the study of the epistemological base of the professions, and then elaborate in relation to a number of other features of professions and their social context. This is the path that will be followed in this chapter, but note must also be taken of the chief exception to this mode of analysis, namely Michel Foucault, for whom, according ...
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