Turkish Perceptions of Work and Having a Profession: Exemplified in Poetry/Literature

Abstract

In many sociological studies, the concept of work is still assumed to he paid work, and other types of work are ignored. This perspective, instead of offering a comprehensive definition of working practices, proposes commodity production and implies the importance of exchange value. This tendency is also seen in the definition of having a profession. Today, having a profession is considered to be a relationship between the producer and the commodity produced. In this light, this study observes and discusses Turkish perceptions of work and having a profession by considering the held of poetry/literature. The study illustrates how the poet/author experiences social stratification by considering both internal dynamics of the field of poetry/literature and his/her position in the hierarchy of professions. In the conceptual framework of this study, which also considers the duality between work and leisure time, Karl Marx's perspectives on economy and work are frequently referenced. Finally, different types of capital, posed by Pierre Bourdieu, and professional prestige scales are adapted to the held of poetry/literature.