The category of Beruf has intrigued sociology since Max Weber made it a fundamental element in understanding the relationship between the individual and society. The richness of the concept can be found in the simultaneous polarity and interpenetration between the subject’s personal profession and the feeling of a call from God: precisely this ambiguity widens the possibility of applying the concept in understanding the meaning that individuals give to their own professions, activities and, more generally, "life in the world.” Illustrating the different ways in which “vocation-profession” can be interpreted, and how it can be studied from various perspectives and with different scientific sensibilities, this book demonstrates how the concept of Beruf continues to be fertile for contemporary sociology. Contributors: Anthony J. Blasi, Andrew J. Weigert, Franco Garelli, Luigi Berzano, Robert M. Fishman, Keeley S. Jones, Laura M. Leming, Giovanni Dal Piaz, Robert C. Butler

Illustrating the different ways in which Weber's category of "Beruf" can be interpreted, and how it can be studied from various perspectives and with different methods, this book demonstrates how "vocation" continues to be a fertile concept for contemporary sociology.

Is the concept of calling universal? God calls all people, yes—but calling is not a monolithic concept. This path-breaking book helps Christians in the United States see how social location shapes assumptions and experiences with vocation, critically examining the cultural priorities of vocation that emphasize certainty, career paths, and personal achievement.

Is the concept of calling universal? God calls all people, yes—but calling is not a monolithic concept. This path-breaking book helps Christians in the United States see how social location shapes assumptions and experiences with vocation, critically examining the cultural priorities of vocation that emphasize certainty, career paths, and personal achievement.

The Protestant doctrine of vocation has had a profound influence on American culture, but in recent years central tenets of this doctrine have come under assault. Vocation: Discerning Our Callings in Life explores current responses to the classic view of vocation and offers a revised statement and application of this doctrine for contemporary North American Christians. According to Douglas Schuurman, many Christians today find it both strange and difficult to interpret their social, economic, political, and cultural lives as responses to God's calling. To renew this biblical perspective, Schuurman argues, Christians must recover the language, meaning, and reality of life as vocation, and his book helps do just that. Developed in dialogue with audiences as diverse as college students, industrial workers, business leaders, church leaders, and professional theologians and ethicists, the book examines the theological and ethical dimensions of vocation as these have been understood historically and in relation to our modern social setting.

This handbook offers a comprehensive review on career guidance, with an emphasis on the applied aspects of guidance together with research methods and perspectives. It features contributions from more than 30 leading authorities in the field from Asia, Africa, America, Australasia and Europe and draws upon a wide range of career guidance paradigms and theoretical perspectives. This handbook covers such subjects as educational and vocational guidance in a social context, theoretical foundations, educational and vocational guidance in practice, specific target groups, testing and assessment, and evaluation.

"The contemporary world-of-work makes demands upon the field of career development and vocational psychology to ensure that theories and practices retain their relevance amidst the complexity of work and learning in people's lives. Social Constructionism is the emerging paradigm that can reformulate theories and practices of career development that have come before. Social Constructionism opens new perspectives and raises questions about phenomena that have captured the imagination of scholars and practitioners for a century. In this fourth book in the Sense Career Development Series, a host of international authors open the window of Social Constructionism to reveal the challenges that lay ahead in the next generation of research and practice. This little book is ideal for the graduate scholar, researcher, and seriously curious practitioner who seek to understand Social Constructionism, the questions it raises, and how those questions may be answered. Readers will be challenged to think hard, review their assumptions, and see the world of work and learning anew. The rewards are worth the effort."