ABSTRACT
The sociology of occupations, in the core area of the study of social organization, has occasionally benefited from an interactionist approach, particularly under the leadership of Everett C. Hughes. In this essay, Robert W. Habenstein, student of Professor Hughes, applies the point of view to the occupation of funeral director. A social process extends in both directions through time. Habenstein’s article illustrates the manner in which a historical analysis of a process provides improved understanding of its current state. It is interesting to note the application in this essay of Max Weber’s concept of the “ideal type” — or, as Howard (P.) Becker has called it, “constructive typology” — as a means of furnishing additional insight into the process of professionalization among funeral directors.
