XIX ISA World Congress of Sociology (July 15-21, 2018)

863

Professional Work in a Globalized World: Migration, Cross-Bordering and Globalization of Knowledge Workers. El Trabajo Profesional En Un Mundo Globalizado: Migración, Transnacionalización y Globalización De Los Trabajadores Del Conocimiento

RC52 Sociology of Professional Groups (host committee)

Language: Spanish and English

The globalization scenario is the framework to understand what is happening with internationalization of professional work as part of a new category raised on the last decades: the “knowledge workers”. In fact, many scientists and experts refer to this period as “knowledge society” or “knowledge economy” to indicate that knowledge is a critical issue on the globalization. In such case, it is necessary to realize the transformations of workers needed in this new situation. It requires an open discussion about categories usually defined to understand labor and workers. Since Robert Reich created the concept of “symbolic analysts”, it seems to be a good starting point to consider professional work in the “knowledge society”.

This session aims to contribute to discuss this issue not only in a theoretical way, but also about real experiences of these “knowledge workers” such as managers, consultants, advisors, lawyers, economists, sociologists, engineers, medical and health staff, professors and technicians required for the global economy in cross-border companies, international organizations, global corporations and universities. The session is also going to be a place to discuss the ongoing negotiation processes in regional integration frames as NAFTA, MERCOSUR or EU, as well as international frames as GATS, to take a perspective on the relationship between these discussions, the knowledge workers and professional practice.