Overview

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

A seminar devoted to the in-depth examination of a topic in Labour Studies not regularly offered by the Program. The course may be repeated for credit when different topics are offered.

COURSE DETAILS:

Child labour is widely discussed and debated as a social problem, yet it is also a necessary and important part of life in many cultural contexts. Public concerns over children’s exploitation come up against the everyday ways in which children labour alongside their parents as “helpers” or as heads of households who must work to survive. Some advocates even argue that children, like all people, have the right to work. This course will examine the shifting boundaries between childhood and adulthood, exploitation and agency, and playing and working. We will explore contexts where children work at home, on farms, in factories, on the basketball court, through art, and on the streets. We will consider times when parents are present and when children are agentively responsible for their own work. Finally, we will discuss the ways young people respond to changing economies and working conditions. Lectures, readings, class activities, films, and writing will deepen students’ understanding of children’s place in the world and, more specifically, children’s dynamic roles as helpers, workers, labourers, and artisans.

Grading

Materials

REQUIRED READING: