Overview

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

The politics of the working class and union movement in the context of neoliberal economic and public policy, recurring economic crises, the changing nature of work, and declining membership. Central to the course will be the question of electoral politics and organized labour's relationship to political parties. Community unionism and social movements are also examined. Breadth-Social Sciences.

COURSE DETAILS:

This is a seminar course devoted to an in-depth and national scale examination of the politics of labour in the context of global capitalism. After introducing the politics of labour studies in general, the course sets out by covering some key approaches and laying out a ‘toolkit’ of concepts to analyze the politics of labour. In today’s rapidly changing, yet troublingly familiar, global context (technological change coupled with vast social and economic inequalities, and workers’ struggles against these realities) it is imperative to come to an understanding of the politics of labour in the national, and global, capitalist economy; and the global environment. The main focus in this course will be on the politics of labour in Canada.

The seminar will focus on the political issues faced by workers; and labour and other movements in the current political economic context in Canada, including: work, wages, and living standards; education, training, and lifelong learning; health and safety in the Canadian workplace; the gendered nature of workplaces, work, and social reproduction; racialization, and racism at work; the inaccessible Canadian workplace; the unions’ impact; and workers’ movements in the new millennium.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

Critical evaluation of texts and sources, strategies for articulating and validating your findings, the application of quantitative and qualitative reasoning, the use of various research tools, a grounding in the politics of labour, and the strengthening of written, oral, and process communication skills.

You will have the tools to analyze the emerging political issues in labour studies, with a Canadian focus. You will attain substantive knowledge of labour movements, markets, and class dynamics.

You will come away with an ability to apply radical and critical political economics to analyze current politics of labour issues and the impact of new social movements on labour in Canada.

Grading

Materials

REQUIRED READING: