Occupational Identity and Authority in High Modernity: The Case of the Professions in the English Building Industry

Timothy S. Eccles

doi:10.21697/ucs.2012.7.02

Published: 2012-12-31

Vol. 7 (2012)

Occupational Identity and Authority in High Modernity: The Case of the Professions in the English Building Industry

Timothy S. Eccles

Academic Journal of Sociology

Section: Articles

https://doi.org/10.21697/ucs.2012.7.02

Abstract

Giddens (1990, 1991, 1994) envisages the replacement of professions through the creation of expert systems in late (high) modernity, which recreate expert knowledge into replicable systems capable of easy transfer between individuals through formulaic rules of procedure. This paper examines this perspective of occupational knowledge in the English building industry, an area long held to exhibit very weak occupational control (jurisdiction) by professions. Rather than Gidden’s weak authority over expertise, the paper describes how professional identity is being used to create an occupational authority that is stronger and better articulated than the traditional literature portrays.

Keywords:

occupational knowledge, occupational identity, professional identity, occupational authority

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Eccles, T. S. (2012). Occupational Identity and Authority in High Modernity: The Case of the Professions in the English Building Industry. Academic Journal of Sociology, 7, 6–24. https://doi.org/10.21697/ucs.2012.7.02

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