If you are considering adding another course to Fall 2022 semester, there are some Labor Studies (LSTU) courses that have not started yet and still have open seats! Bear in mind that these non-standard session courses move at an accelerated pace.
These 3 credit hour classes meet October 31 – December 12:
LSTU-L 104 Introduction to the Study of Labor History 3 cr. Class Number 4712. This course serves as an orientation for the study of labor history. It explores both critical and historical methodologies based on primary and secondary sources, biases, and interpretations. Discussions focus on selective questions and events.
LSTU-L 205 Contemporary Labor Problems 3 cr. Class Number 12856. This course examines some of the major problems confronting society, workers, and the labor movement. Topics may include automation, unemployment, international trade, environmental problems, minority and women’s rights, community relations, and changing government policies.
LSTU-L 275 Protecting Workers’ Rights in Global Supply Chains 3 cr. Class Number 36705. This course explores the impact of global supply chains (GSCs) on workers’ abilities to maintain adequate living standards, the regulatory frameworks under which trade, investment and taxation occur, and the strategies/tactics workers can use to create an alternative governing structure which promotes sustainable work and development within the GSC.
LSTU-L 298 American Dream in the Age of Decline 3 cr. Class Number 36708. American Dream in an Age of Decline is the interdisciplinary exploration of frameworks within which the notion of the American Dream has been constructed and changed over time in relation to the working class. What is the American Dream? How do the dreamers envision equality in their societies? How do perceptions of and struggles for equality impact definitions of success and happiness? There is no simple response that would be sufficient to these questions. In this course, we will examine what has happened to the American Dream and the life chances of working people. We will focus on the present state of working Americans and see how the standard of living for Americans has been affected (defined) by the larger social, political and economic environments.
These 1 credit hour classes meet with varying dates as listed:
LSTU-L 272 White Privilege in the Workforce 1 cr. Class Number 36707, class dates are Nov 9 – Dec 7. This course explores the origins of white privilege from the era of industrialization and the rise of the factory system in the US, the manifestations of white privilege in today’s workplace and the mechanisms by which white privilege creates workplace advantages and inequalities. The foundational materials include the scholarship of W.E. B. DuBois (1925), David Roediger (1999-2005), Herbert Gutman (1973), Edgar Schein (1990) and Nkomo (2014). The interrogation of white privilege in the workplace is viewed through the lens of organizational analysis and political economy theory.
LSTU-L 296 Preventing Workplace Violence 1 cr. Class Number 36711, class dates are Nov 9 – Dec 7. This course will examine the causes, preventions, and individual risks for workers from the real/perceived threat of violence in the workplace. We will identify behavioral, environmental, and administrative factors that contribute or prevent the incidents of violence in the workplace.
LSTU-L 297/LSTU-L 390 Strike! Labor Revolt in America 1 cr. Class Number 36713 (for LSTU-L 297) or 7381 (for LSTU-L 390), class dates are Oct 24 – Nov 21. Enroll in only 1 section, not both! This course examines media (and, in turn, public) understanding of the U.S. labor movement and analyzes reaction to some specific, highly publicized strikes. News media have rarely served as independent storytellers of strikes. Instead, they have told stories that are aligned with the generally antilabor interests of corporate America (including their publishers and parent media corporations). Even among more liberal media, “ordinary” workers are often portrayed as a passive mass that is controlled and directed by unions and labor leaders. It is rare to see any news outlet sympathetic to the beliefs and causes of labor or to striking workers. This course will be driven by the overarching question of why that might be.
Questions? You may reach the Labor Studies office at 812-855-9084 for more information.
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