Professionalism, the Third Logic : On the Practice of Knowledge

Rating:
Summary: A short article would have sufficed
Review: I cannot speak fairly of the rest of Friedson's work, so perhaps this book is received differently by those who are familiar with his oeuvre. That being said, there is nothing in this book that justifies its length. Its subject matter could have been soundly dealt with in an article-length piece.

Friedson's ambition is to establish a presence in the scholarly field for the study of ideotypical Professionalism (as practice, ethos, and so on) alongside free-market economic organization and bureaucratic organization. He compares and contrasts differenct aspects of each, focusing on labor markets, careers, claims to bodies of knowledge, and contemporary contests. The analysis attempts to be comprehensive, but sacrifices specificity as well as liveliness in that respect. Not only is Friedson limited by his ambiguous use of the Weberian methodological ideal type (you get the feeling he is switching back and forth, but you can't quite place when), his lack of sharp insights makes this something of a dull read.

Perhaps, again, this is an unfair judgment, as I have not read the rest of his work. But for me, it seemed a shame that a book with such bold ambitions, even standing on the shoulders of a giant like Weber, could only come up with a handful of mediocre insights. The next generation of sociologists studying the professions will, I hope, be able to incorporate more contemporary theories and data and give us the analyses and perspectives that this book could and should have.

Rating:
Summary: A short article would have sufficed
Review: I cannot speak fairly of the rest of Friedson's work, so perhaps this book is received differently by those who are familiar with his oeuvre. That being said, there is nothing in this book that justifies its length. Its subject matter could have been soundly dealt with in an article-length piece.

Friedson's ambition is to establish a presence in the scholarly field for the study of ideotypical Professionalism (as practice, ethos, and so on) alongside free-market economic organization and bureaucratic organization. He compares and contrasts differenct aspects of each, focusing on labor markets, careers, claims to bodies of knowledge, and contemporary contests. The analysis attempts to be comprehensive, but sacrifices specificity as well as liveliness in that respect. Not only is Friedson limited by his ambiguous use of the Weberian methodological ideal type (you get the feeling he is switching back and forth, but you can't quite place when), his lack of sharp insights makes this something of a dull read.

Perhaps, again, this is an unfair judgment, as I have not read the rest of his work. But for me, it seemed a shame that a book with such bold ambitions, even standing on the shoulders of a giant like Weber, could only come up with a handful of mediocre insights. The next generation of sociologists studying the professions will, I hope, be able to incorporate more contemporary theories and data and give us the analyses and perspectives that this book could and should have.