The boundaries of professionalization: The case of North American funeral direction

This article examines the relationship between occupational and individual professionalization through the example of funeral direction. It is based u pon an ethnographic study of an accredited mortuary science program at a co mmunity college, it compares and contrasts the socialization of aspiring fu neral directors in that program to previous case studies of socialization i nto other self-styled professions. This analysis suggests that the success of occupational socialization in fostering a personal sense of professional distinction depends not so much on an occupation's professional prestige b ut upon its definitive claim to a distinctive occupational jurisdiction.