Page 175 - The ISA Handbook in Contemporary Sociology

9781412934633-Chap-10 1/10/09 8:45 AM Page 146

146 THE ISA HANDBOOK IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIOLOGY

During a thirty year period, the sociology social concern. These factors, combined with
of professional groups in France remained the collapse of East European communist
fairly stationary – despite the intellectual states and the decline of Marxist theories, but
developments taking place among English- also with other internal changes in the disci-
speaking sociologists in this field. The soci- pline (Dubar, 2004; Gadea, 2003), help to
ology of professional groups had been a explain the return to the development of the
major theoretical perspective in the sociol- sociology of professional groups in France in
ogy of the cadres, but it was a marginal field the 1990s. The interactionist approach and
in the discipline of sociology more generally micro-level analysis of worker integration,
and it could not be compared with the pow- identity and socialization became dominant
erful sociology of work. The sociology of in France and the sociology of professional
work tended to focus on the situation of groups began again to attract research inter-
workers (usually male workers, in big indus- est. Dubar’s theory of social and professional
trial enterprises) and this trend increased in identity (1991), inspired by Mead, Hughes,
importance after 1968, when the class para- Becker and Goffman, is one of the most
digm became dominant in French sociology. quoted works of the decade. It can be seen
No sooner had the sociology of professional also in the collective book from the first
groups begun to be known in France than it interim conference of the ISA working group
was in decline. ‘sociology of professional groups’(created in
Some research on the professions was 1990 in Madrid), held in Paris in 1992
done at the beginning of the 1980s, for (Dubar and Lucas, 1994) that the range of
instance on the medical profession occupations studied by French sociologists
(Baszanger, 1981), but the amount increased became larger and many young PhD students
progressively. Some important research was chose a professional/occupational group for
published in the middle of the decade: the subject of their research. The interaction-
Segrestin (1984) dares to return to the ‘phe- ist theoretical paradigm tends to focus on the
nomenon of corporatism’; Paradeise (1984) occupational labour market and social inte-
presents professions as ‘closed labour mar- gration, although the conditions or contexts
kets’. In some ways, these studies comple- for such integration can be conditions of con-
ment the critical literature on professional flict, competition and cooperation. There are
groups that was also prominent in English also additional complicating factors includ-
language analyses during this period where ing race and ethnic tensions, gender and class
the interpretations were of occupational inequalities. These changes were also linked
conflict, competition and dominance. to the arrival of new generations of empirical,
Interactionists’approaches to work and occu- research-orientated young sociologists and to
pations increased in importance (Desmarez, a major shift in the relationship between
1986). Some historians also contributed and social scientists, managers and public policy
were able to attract the interest of young makers. During this period the French social-
researchers to the study of engineers and ist government encouraged social research
technical occupations (Grelon, 1986; Shinn, on work, technologies and employment in
1980; Thépot, 1985). large enterprises and public services. Thus
In the 1990s French society faced a crisis managers and corporate officials became
in employment, and the integration of young more interested in the sociological interpreta-
people into the labour market became more tions of the dynamics of professional groups
and more difficult, even though they had a both inside organizations and within the
higher education level than previous genera- labour market. The question of professional
tions. Professional integration and the identity had important policy and political
construction of professional identity by dimensions. Currently in France the sociol-
young people become a major political and ogy of professional groups is seen to be an