Reconstructing the sociology of intellectuals and its research programme

In this article, the main research paths developed at the international level within the field of the sociology of intellectuals are identified. For a long time, debates remained restricted to theoretical reflection and were clearly linked to the ideological conflicts of the political field. From the eighties onwards, however, a research field taking into account previous debates emerged with the development of new theoretical and methodological tools appropriate for the study of intellectuals in specific social contexts. The result is a research programme which shares some common principles, but at the same time is characterized by different definitions of its object of study.