The idea of professionalism and a profession’s style

1. The idea of professionalismand a profession’sstyle Presentation for the ISA Forum, RC52 August 2012 in Buenos Aires Kurt Dauer Keller Department of Learning and Philosophy, Aalborg University

2. The idea of professionalism • The notion of professionalism as the ideal type of a ’third social logic’ next to (state) bureaucracy and market (Freidson) • The very idea of professionalism is theoretical (conceptual, discursive), and of normative as well as of descriptive interest • It must be conceived as a distinct political and sociocultural ’institution’: a significant factor of the civil society, deeply rooted in our lifeworld and civilization • In its inherent association with ethics and trust: a notion of the entirety of social order (alternative to ’the state’ and ’the market’) • An open empirical question: in what ways and to what extent are concrete professions marked by the habitus (and institution) of professionalism? ISA Forum 2012 K.D. Keller, Aalborg University

3. The style (and other important notions) of a profession • The style: the recognized identity (prevailing image) of a characteristic form of professional practice; the social sense and significance that it represents • not a cognitive or discursive idea, but a corporeal experience of practical meaning • The habitus: the actual organization and accomplishment of professional work (not enough elucidated in previous research, cf. Abbott 1988, Freidson 2001) • The institution: the socioculturally taken for granted coherence between the social field and the habitus of a profession ISA Forum 2012 K.D. Keller, Aalborg University

4. The phenomenological understanding of experience and behavior as intentional (perspectival, oriented) meaning • Figure on a background • Theme in a context • Event in a situation Examples: • A personal action that makes sense and is of significance within an inter-personal communication, an occupational community or an anonymous socioculture • The focus-foreground-background structure of work organization: situated discretion - competent practice - social identity ISA Forum 2012 K.D. Keller, Aalborg University

5. Ideal types of social order and their work organizational implications ISA Forum 2012 K.D. Keller, Aalborg University

6. Dimensions of professional style discursive descriptive interpretive corporeal ISA Forum 2012 K.D. Keller, Aalborg University

7. Practical understanding of evidence and expert knowledge to be attained through health educations (Voldbjerg et al.) • Corporeal knowledge in the education of nurses: • Handling lung and throat tissue • Actualizing emotions of sorrow and loss • Interpretive knowledge in the education of occupational therapists: • Evocation of a mythology of the establishment of the professional discipline • Interpretive knowledge in the education of radiographers: • Realizing how criteria of picture quality may depend on the context of application ISA Forum 2012 K.D. Keller, Aalborg University

8. Developmental and dynamic coherence of varieties of expert knowledge Critical, reflected explanation Holistic, integrating interpretation Immediate, corporeal understanding ISA Forum 2012 K.D. Keller, Aalborg University

9. The democracy of professionalism and professions Predominantaspects of democracy in the ideal types of social logic: Realted to ’politics’: • The state: delegation and civil rights (formal, ’cognitive’ orientation) • The market: liberty (appetitive, ’conative’ orientation) Related to ’the political’: • The professionalism: character attitude (humanistic , ’emotional’ orientation) Importantaspects of democracywithoutparticular relation to one ideal type: • Freedom of organization, press and speech • Deliberation The cross-cuttingquestion of ’systemiccolonizing’ of the lifeworld (and civil society) ISA Forum 2012 K.D. Keller, Aalborg University