Summer 2019 - LBST 301W D100

Labour Movements: Issues, Images and Popular Culture (3)

Class Number: 5895

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    May 6 – Aug 2, 2019: Mon, 9:30 a.m.–12:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Instructor:

    Jenny Shaw
    jeshaw@sfu.ca
    Office Hours: MO 12:30-13:30
  • Prerequisites:

    LBST 101 or on permission of instructor.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Provides a comprehensive understanding of the contemporary structure, issues, and perceptions of labour unions and other forms of working-class organization and social movements. The treatment of labour in the media and popular culture will provide an understanding of how labour is viewed in society, how labour views itself, and how working-class culture informs and is informed by the larger culture. Students with credit for LBST 301 may not take this course for further credit. Writing.

COURSE DETAILS:

Media, labour movements, and class politics are intimately entwined. Corporate media, popular culture such films and television, and new media present challenges and opportunities to labour movements and work-class struggles. This course will elucidate the structures, issues, perceptions, and emergent spaces of labour movements and other forms of class politics through media. We will explore the ways in which various types of corporate media portray unions, strikes, and layoffs. We will then examine the ways in which digital media can give rise to new avenues of facilitating connections, collaboration, and resistance among workers. We will also spend time analyzing examples of gender, race, class, and labour in popular media including film, television, artwork, and more. In the process, students will deepen their analytical and critical thinking skills as well as sharpen their writing skills in this writing-intensive course.

Grading

  • Attendance and participation 15%
  • Media analysis essay #1 15%
  • Media analysis essay #2 20%
  • Reading quizzes (2 x 10%) 20%
  • Final research paper 30%

NOTES:

Grading: The letter grade N (incomplete) is given when a student has enrolled for a course, but did not write the final examination or otherwise failed to complete the coursework, and did not withdraw from the course before the deadline date. An N is considered and F for purposes of scholastic standing. 

Grading System: Undergraduate Course Grading System is A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D, F, N (N standing to indicate the student did not complete).

A+ 95-100 B+ 80-84 C+ 65-69 D 50-54
A 90-94 B 75-79 C 60-64 F 0-49
A- 85-89 B- 70-74 C- 55-59  

Centre for Accessible Learning: Students with hidden or visible disabilities who believe they may need classroom or exam accommodations are encouraged to register with the SFU Centre for Accessible Learning (1250 Maggie Benston Centre) as soon as possible to ensure that they are eligible and that approved accommodations and services are implemented in a timely fashion.

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

Dencik, L., & Wilkin, P. (2015). Worker Resistance and Media: Challenging Global Corporate Power in the 21st Century. New York: Peter Lang, Inc.

(available online through the SFU Library)
ISBN: 978-1-433124983

Martin, C. (2003). Framed! Labor and the Corporate Media. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

(available for purchase through the SFU Bookstore)
ISBN: 978-0-801488870

Registrar Notes:

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating.  Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community.  Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS