Sociology of Professions
one-way Exclusions
Lecture, private study
Please note that course information listed in the Arts and Science Course Calendar supersedes any information listed on the Sociology website.
For the most current course offerings, registered Queen’s students should consult SOLUS.
Course Description
This course offers an introduction to theories and empirical studies of professions and occupations. Using case studies of lawyers, physicians, engineers, scientists, accountants, social workers, and other occupations, this course examines historical change, social structure, market competition, hiring, career advancement, workplace interaction and culture, job satisfaction, work-life balance, demographic diversity, social service, professional ethics, retirement and other aspects of professions from the late nineteenth century to the age of globalization and digitization.
Learning Outcomes
- Apply course material to real work and daily life examples.
- Become familiar with a variety of research questions and empirical studies of issues related to work and occupations.
- Consider various social and economic policy initiatives by which problems related to work might be addressed.
- Critically read, analyze, and write about sociological (both theoretical and empirical) literature on the professions and occupations.
- Gain foundational knowledge concerning important concepts and causal relationships that will help you make sense of professional work and its role in society.
- Think about how these research questions are related to more general theories of work, social organization, and institutions.
- Understand how professions and occupations are currently conceived of in terms of expert knowledge, market control, professional orders, and codes of conduct.