Professionalism

Eliot Freidson is Professor Emeritus of Sociology, New York University, and Visiting Professor of Sociology, University of California, San Francisco

"This work is the capstone of Eliot Freidson's extraordinarily distinguished career as a medical sociologist and student of the professions. The book summarizes a wide range of literature within Freidson's innovative and profound theory of professionalism as a "logic" of institutions different from (and in conflict with) the logics of the market and of bureaucracy. It should be required reading for anyone concerned with the vital issue of the importance of - and contemporary threats to - the social values intrinsic to professionalism." Robert Alford, City University of New York "As learned and tightly argued as any work in the Weberian tradition, this book develops an ideal-type analysis of professionalism that transcends the particular circumstances of specific occupations. Freidson's distinctions between professions, technical occupations and crafts are likely to inform all subsequent discussions. Everyone who studies the professions will need to take this important book into account." Steven Brint, University of California, Riverside

• Acknowledgements. Introduction.Part One: Professionalism: the Ideal Type.Chapter 1: Professional Knowledge and Skill.Chapter 2: Divisions of Labour.Chapter 3: Labor markets and Careers.Chapter 4: Training Programs.Chapter 5: Ideologies.Part Two: The Contingencies of Professionalism.Chapter 6: States and Associations.Chapter 7: Bodies of Knowledge.Chapter 8: The Assault on Professionalism.Chapter 9: The Soul of Professionalism.Notes.References.Index