LABOUR STUDIES: COURSES
54-100. Labour and Social Movements in Canadian Society
An interdisciplinary introduction to the study of labour and social movements, focussing on their efforts to address the needs of workers, women, gays and lesbians, social and ethnic minorities, students, and the poor.
54-105. Working for a Living
This course uses the students' own experiences of work to examine the economic, social, and psychological significance of paid and unpaid work in Canadian society, the tasks and values assigned to various kinds of work, and the relationship between work and living standards.
54-200. Labour Law and Policy
An interdisciplinary examination of the relationship between the state, law, and labour unions. This course examines the role of the state and labour law in shaping and mediating the relationship between labour and employers. The impact of laws in labour relations, employment standards, workers' compensation, human rights, and occupational health and safety are examined.
54-204. Worker Health and Safety
An interdisciplinary examination of the political, legal, social, and economic aspects of occupational health and safety. This course covers the history of health and safety within industrial, office, and rural contexts in Canada and other parts of the world.
54-206 Work and Equality
The course explores how work (both paid and unpaid) is distributed, valued and rewarded with special attention to issues of gender, racialization, ethnicity, sexuality, age and physical appearance. The course will also cover efforts to create greater equality in the valuation of work and the distribution of responsibility through public policy, law, collective bargaining, and advocacy. (Prerequisites: 54-105 or 53-100, or 48-101 and 48-102) (Also offered as Women’s Studies 53-206)
54-225. Work and Organizations
An examination of the changing world of work from a variety of theoretical perspectives. The course examines workplace organization, including management strategies and workers' responses. Special topics include: work in the automobile, clothing, or other specific industries, contemporary changes in work organization and organizational issues involving class, ethnicity, and gender. (Also offered as Sociology 48-225.) (Prerequisites: any two of 48-101, 48-102, 49-111, 49-112, or 54-100; or Labour Studies students must have at least Semester 2 standing.)
54-237. Labour and Social Justice
An examination of the philosophical problems raised by the nature and function of labour in a changing society. Topics to be addressed include: the relationship between labour and the struggle for democracy, labour as a social movement, the relationship between labour and conceptions of the good life, the relationship between economic and human value, technology and the nature of labour, and the sexual division of labour. (Also offered as 34-237.) (Prerequisite: 2nd semester standing.)
54-301. Labour Movements and Social Change
An examination of various theories of labour movements from an interdisciplinary perspective. The focus is on explaining how and why workers have organized labour unions and on understanding their relative successes and failures in achieving changes in work and in society more generally. The role of workers in revolutionary movements and their contributions to other social movements may also be examined. (Prerequisite: 54-100 and 54-105.)
54-310. Special Topics
Topics may vary from term to term; consult with a Labour Studies advisor for details.(May be repeated for credit if the topics are different.)
54-318. Dispute Resolution in Labour Relations
A combination of lectures and simulations aimed at introducing students to the different aspects, methods, and approaches to dispute resolution within the labour relations sphere, including grievance procedures, arbitration, mediation and joint-labour management committees. (Prerequisite: One of 54-200 or 45-214.)
54-322. Labour, Workplace and Communication
The course involves a critical exploration of the relationships between labour and information technology from a communication perspective. Both political economy and cultural studies approaches are used to analyze the everyday experiences of individuals in both their paid and unpaid labour. Issues examined may include Scientific Management and Fordism/Post-Fordism, globalization, electronic surveillance, the natural environment, and the intersection(s) of race/ethnicity, class, and gender. (Also offered as Communication Studies 40-322). (Prerequisites: 40-202 or 40-257 or Labour studies majors must have at least semester 4 standing.) (Credit cannot be obtained for both 40-321 and 54-322.)
54-326. Jobs, Careers, and the Labour Market
An examination of occupations and the changing labour market. This course examines the ways people choose occupations and develop careers, the nature of professions and professionalization, unemployment and its consequences, and the influence of occupations on individuals and society in a wider sense. Special topics include the impact of technological change on the occupational structure of younger and other populations. (Prerequisites: any two of 48-101, 48-102, 49-111, 49-112, or 54-100; or Labour Studies students must have at least Semester 4 standing.) (Also offered as Sociology 48-326.)
54-327. Social Movements
An examination of theories and case studies of world revolutions, class struggles, and various social movements, such as the feminist, gay and lesbian, labour, native, ecological, and other movements. (Also offered as Sociology 48-327.) (Prerequisites: any two of 48-101, 48-102, 49-111, 49-112, or 54-100.)
54-332. Labour and Industrialization Process
The development of Canadian industry and workers' responses to industrialization are examined. Special topics may include early industrialization and its effects, the development of monopoly capitalism, the emergence of service and other new industries, the impact of new technologies, changes in the division of labour, the impact of globalization and economic restructuring, the development of new management approaches such as lean production, changes in women's work, the development of labour unions, and the role of women, youth, and minorities at work. (Prerequisites: any two of 48-101, 48-102, 49-111, 49-112, or 54-100; or Labour Studies students must have at least Semester 5 standing.) Also offered as 48-332. (Credit may not be obtained for both 48-332 and 54-332)
54-349. Canadian Labour History
A study of the development of the Canadian labour movement and an analysis of the Canadian working-class experience during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. (Also offered as History 43-349.) (Prerequisites: semester 4 standing. Labour Studies majors must have Semester 4 or above standing or consent of instructor.)
54-370. Industrial-Organizational Psychology
The study of employees, workplaces, and organizations. Topics include job analysis and competency models, recruitment, selection, and decision making, performance management, training, group and team processes in organizations, employee attitudes, affect, and behaviour, motivation, leadership, productive and counterproductive work behaviour. (Prerequisites: 46-115 and 46-116; or Labour Studies students with at least Semester 4 standing; or consent of instructor.) (Also offered as 46-370.)
54-401. Practicum in Social Justice and Labour Studies
This course offers students the opportunity to apply their academic knowledge in a practical setting. Students will be placed with organizations dedicated to the pursuit of social justice and/or labour issues in the Windsor area. Students will be assigned a major project to be completed under the supervision of the course instructor and an on-site practicum supervisor. Students will be expected to contribute a minimum of three hours per week, meeting regularly with course instructor to provide oral and written reports. This course is open to Social Justice and Labour Studies majors only. Also offered as Social Justice 38-447. Prerequisites: 38-321 or 54-301 and semester 5 standing.
54-428. Labour and Globalization
An examination of the impact of contemporary globalization on work life and working class economic and political mobilization. Particular emphasis is placed on a comparative study of labour movement strategies with a view to understanding the nationally specific and cross national character of these responses. (Also offered as 54-428) (Prerequisites: 48-326 or 54-301).