Rethinking the Concept of Autonomy for the Sociology of Symbolic Goods

This paper revisits the uses of the concept of autonomy in sociological analysis of the conditions of production and circulation of symbolic goods. Part 1 provides an overview of autonomy in three intellectual traditions: the sociology of professions, Marxist reflection theory, and field theory. Despite some divergences and the partial incompatibility of their uses of the concept, there are areas of overlap and possible linkages between these approaches, investigated in Part 2. These lead us, in Part 3, to formulate proposals towards a reasoned synthesis of these uses for the sociology of the production and circulation of symbolic goods.