Overview

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:

Over the course of the 20th century and into the 21st, an ideological conflict over attitudes and perceptions of labour and the working class has waged in both mass and alternative media. On the pages of mainstream newspapers, in popular films and television programs, and in journalistic accounts the labour movement has been depicted variously as a hotbed of dissidence, producer of thuggery and harbourer of organized crime, and as an insurance policy for the lazy and inept. At the same time, in alternative media, the labour press, and independent film and television unions and workers have been celebrated as heroic, champions of equality and justice, and the real-world manifestations of a politics of the 99%.

In this course we will critically assess popular perceptions of the labour movement and working-class politics by critiquing their depictions in news and popular culture. Through our analyses of television, film, and print portrayals of unions, workers and the working class, we will identify and in some cases dispel dominant narratives of each. To aid us in this interrogation we will consult and be guided by literature from a variety of theoretical streams including critical and feminist political economy, sociology of work, anti-colonialism, critical race studies, and more. Our investigations will lead us to consider some of the major issues facing labour movements today and the popular discourse surrounding them.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

This course will challenge you to question dominant narratives pertaining to unions, workers and the working class in popular culture.

You will be asked to read academic accounts of labour history and theory and to apply these to your assessment of popular ideas about unions and movements more generally.

In this course we will apply what we read and learn to contemporary political and social events in Canada and beyond in order to be better prepared to intervene within them.

After taking this class, you will be prepared to utilize critical political economic and cultural studies frameworks to analyze and critique popular culture narratives and to interpret collective labour and class-based movements through a global lens.

As this is a writing intensive course, you will also be given opportunities to improve your writing skills and argumentative abilities. This will take the form of in-class writing workshops and writing consultations.

Grading

Materials

MATERIALS + SUPPLIES:

Universal Access Remote learning for this semester requires a computer or tablet, camera, and internet access. Most laptops and desktops are running OSX and Windows. Tablets may be Android, iOS or Windows based. Headsets are advised but not necessary. Note that students have access to free Office 365 or Adobe Creative Cloud found here.

REQUIRED READING: