Listed in: Political Science, as POSC-145
Kristin Bumiller (Section 01)
This course will explore the role of work in the context of American politics and society. We will study how work has been understood in political and social theory by considering the scholarship of John Locke, Karl Marx, Max Weber, Judith Shklar, Pierre Bourdieu, Zygmunt Bauman, Luc Boltanski, and others. We will also consider ethnographic studies that explore how workers experience their lives inside organizations and how workplaces transform in response to changing legal regulations. These theoretical and empirical explorations will provide a foundation for reflections about how work structures opportunities in democratic societies and how re-imagining work might unleash human potential. The course will ground these questions about the role of work in the context of American politics and society. At the broadest level we will ask: Do citizens in a liberal society have a right to engage in meaningful work and earn a living wage? What is the changing nature of work in a neoliberal society? What are the goals of the state in regards to the production of a future workforce? What are the impacts of employment discrimination, occupational segregation, and wage disparity based on race or gender?
Limited to 18 students. Spring semester. Professor Bumiller.
Section 01
Tu 11:30 AM - 12:50 PM SCCE E212
Th 11:30 AM - 12:50 PM SCCE E212
This is preliminary information about books for this course. Please contact your instructor or the Academic Coordinator for the department, before attempting to purchase these books.
| ISBN | Title | Publisher | Author(s) | Comment | Book Store | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do | The New Press | Studs Terkel | Amherst Books | TBD | ||
| The fissured workplace : why work became so bad for so many and what can be done to improve it | Harvard University Press | David Weil | Amherst Books | TBD | ||
| Working law : courts, corporations, and symbolic civil rights | University of Chicago Press | Lauren B. Edelman | Amherst Books | TBD |
These books are available locally at Amherst Books.