H. Michael Boyd

The American Electrical Engineering Occupation: Profession, Professionalization, Power and Status H. Michael Boyd

One of the most influential professional groups on the 21st Century world of work has been the Electrical Engineering Occupation. This book deals with aspects of power, knowledge, status and technology as they are found in the American electrical engineering profession and occupation as it has evolved from the early 1880s through the 1990s. The primary foci of this discussion are the professionalizing of the American Electrical Engineering occupation, its quest for status and power, its creation and stewardship of knowledge, its control of technology, and its marriage with capitalism and industry. It addresses three questions of sociological importance: Is the American electrical engineering group an occupation or a profession; what has been the influence of technology on the group; and how has the elite leadership of the group influenced it ?