Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

A astrologia como campo profissional em formação

1999; UNIVERSIDADE DO ESTADO DO RIO DE JANEIRO; Volume: 42; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1590/s0011-52581999000400005

1678-4588

Adriana Venuto,

History of Colonial Brazil

The article studies the process of institutionalization of the profession of astrologer, based on an analysis of the struggle of different groups to legitimize new ways of thinking and of organizing their field. Two groups have stood out: the modern group, whose proposal for the field is based on the organizational model of modern professions, and the elite group, which seeks to revert to a traditional model. Research was conducted among professional astrologers in the states of Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, and Sao Paulo. Those to be interviewed were initially selected from specialized newspapers and then, once groups had been mapped, the intentional sampling method was applied. The article endeavors to understand if and how these astrologers are creating strategies for their participation in the field and what institutional mechanisms have contributed towards creation of a unified cognitive base that will allow these ‘professionals’ to exercise exclusive control over a given domain of expertise.