Professionalism in contemporary societies

Abstract

Professions represent an essential feature of modern societies by maintaining core societal values and engaging in problem-solving in areas such as health, law and education. However, during the last decades the appeal of professionalism, associated with autonomy, discretion and a privileged status, has diffused greatly in the field of service work. Professionalism now seems to be everywhere while the ‘classic professions’ such as medicine and the juridical profession are confronted with serious structural changes. As a research field, the sociology of professions opens up a perspective on work and social change across micro, meso and macro levels, looking for the nexus between knowledge and power in contemporary societies.