Week 01 29 January		Course Introduction and Overview 1. Pedagogical goals: to make introductions to both one another as well as course topics and texts. 2. Assigned Readings: 3. Supplemental Sources: 4. Assignment: INTRODUCTORY EXERCISE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Weeks 02 & 03 05 & 12 February 2001		Course Introduction and Overview 1. Pedagogical goals: to interrogate the concept of "work" from historical, political, cultural and philosophical perspectives. 2. Assigned Readings: What Comes Next? The Hungry Spirit: Beyond Capitalism..., Chapters 8 & 9 Taylor, Fredrick. `The Principles of Scientific Management' Terkel, Studs. 'Working'. (Chapter titles: Carl Murray Bates, Walter Lundquist, Donna Murray, Roberta Victor, Nora Watson) 3. Supplemental Sources: 4. Assignment: DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Week 04 26 February 2001		Outside Readings: A Critique 1. Pedagogical goals: to analyze 'popular' conceptions of work, and offer a reasoned evaluation of same. 2. Assigned Readings: MALA 600A Readings Packet #2 [Personal Selections] 3. Supplemental Sources: 4. Assignment: I would hope for the following from each of you... 1) A brief *summary* (written) of the book on which you have chosen to report (with copies for class members). 2) A *critique* of the book (identify the perspective/theoretical base which will provide this analysis). 3) Some sort of *application* of the text to your own life. What are the practical lessons which might be 'gleaned' from the book--for you? 4) Identification of one *specific mechanism* which others could implement in order to increase the meaning of their own work lives, based upon your reading. 5) Some link between your book and some other *disciplinary tradition*--how might you assist others in understanding the principles/claims of 'your' book, without refering to the book itself? WRITING ASSIGNMENT 1 DUE [see above] DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Week 05 05 March 2001		Work and Job Design 1. Pedagogical goals: to interrogate the "meaning of work" from the perspective of job and workplace design: how can jobs be designed for meaning? What are the job attributes of meaningful work? What is "meaningfulness" from the perspective of job design? 2. Assigned Readings: Terkel, Studs. Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do. (Chapter titles: Carl Murray Bates, Walter Lundquist, Donna Murray, Roberta Victor, Nora Watson) 3. Supplemental Sources: Work design studies (i.e. Xerox Palo Alto Research Center studies); historical and contemporary studies of the evolving workplace; job design and gender (Barker, Jane and Hazel Downing. 'Word Processing and the Transformation of Patriarchal Relations in the Workplace.' In Donald MacKenzie and Judy Wajcman, eds. 'The Social Shaping of Technology: How the Refrigerator Got Its Hum.' 4. Assignment: After reading Terkel's 'Working', with an emphasis on sections on Walter Lundquist, Donna Murray, and Nora Watson, students write their own entry for a (hypothetical) updated version of Terkel's book. WRITING ASSIGNMENT 2 DUE [see above] DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Week 06 19 March 2001		Work, Efficiency, and Rewards 1. Pedagogical goals: To interrogate the relationships between work and different reward systems, to reflect on the source and value in work; to connect the meaning of work to a sense of self. 2. Assigned Readings: Rifkin, Chapters 1, 7 Aronowitz, Stanley & William DiFazio. Technoculture and the Future of Work.. Wolman, William & Anne Colamosca. The Judas Economy: The Triumph of Capital and the Betrayal of Work. (Chapters 4, 6) Moore, Thomas. Care of the Soul: A Guide for Cultivating Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life. (Chapter 9) Taylor, Fredrick. The Principles of Scientific Management. 3. Supplemental Sources: work and extrinsic rewards; work and intrinsic rewards; volunteerism; work and self; work and community; work as service; non-western conceptions of the relationship between work and self. 4. Assignment: After reading Terkel's 'Working', with an emphasis on sections on Walter Lundquist, Donna Murray, and Nora Watson, each student is asked to interview a professional on or off campus who does more or less what they would like to do in the future. On the basis of a structured interview with this professional and a site visit (if possible), write a paper on what life is 'typically' like in your chosen profession--and more importantly how the 'typical' may be transformed to the 'ideal.' DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Week 07 02 April 2001		Work and Organizational Design 1. Pedagogical goals: to sensitize students to the way work in contemporary societies is contextualized; to provide awareness of the historical origins and evolution of modern organizations; to interrogate the social, economic, political, and philosophical implications of work organization and of organizational society. 2. Assigned Readings: Levine, Daniel S. Disgruntled: The Darker Side of the World of Work. (Chapters 1 & 13) Schwartz, Barry. The Costs of Living: How Market Freedom Erodes the Best Things in Life. (Chapter 8) Pava, Moses L. The Search for Meaning in Organizations: Seven Practical Questions for Ethical Managers. (Chapters 2 & 8) Campbell, Susan. Working With a Sense of the Whole: The Essence of the Community. 3. Supplemental Sources: organizational theory; ergonomics; 'Man in a Gray Flannel Suit;' 'The Organization Man;' Rosabeth Moss-Kanter, `Men and Women of the Corporation.' 4. Assignment: Read Jim Collins article 'What Comes Next?, and be prepared to answer the following questions in discussion: What do I stand for? What are the dimensions of meaningful work? How can you insure that your own work is meaningful? How can you create the conditions under which other find work meaningful? Write a statement of personal purpose, per Jim Collins' article, as well as a career plan consistent with this statement of purpose (Due 16 April class session) WRITING ASSIGNMENT 3 DUE [see above] DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Week 08 16 April 2001		Work, the State, and Exploitation Facilitator: --- 1. Pedagogical goals: to provide awareness of the evolution, dynamics, and implications of structures of power and authority in the workplace; to study various models of workplace hierarchies; to interrogate the concept of "control" of work and "ownership" of work and its relationship to the meaning of work and to work satisfaction 2. Assigned Readings: Hardt, Michael & Antonio Negri. Communism as Critique. Friedman, Milton. The Social Responsibility of Business... Soros, George. The Capitalist Threat 3. Supplemental Sources: Aronowitz; Berle and Means `The Modern Corporation and Private Property' 4. Assignment: WRITING ASSIGNMENT 4 DUE [see above] DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Week 09 30 April 2001		Work, Gender and the Border Facilitator: Mercedes Pereira-Trent 1. Pedagogical goals: To interrogate work, citizenship, culture and language in border regions (U.S. Mexico border, Turkish workers in Germany, etc.); to make students aware of the social construction of gender; of the relationship of work performed by women, particularly in Third World countries, in relation to the global economy 2. Assigned Readings: Kafka's 'Metamorphosis' Deleuze, Gilles & Felix Guattari. What is a Minor Literature?. Martinez, Elizabeth & Ed McCaughan. Chicanas and Mexicanas within a Transnational Working Class. Haraway, Donna. Women's Place is in the Jungle. Schwartz, Howard. Masculinity and the Meaning of Work: A Response to Manichean Feminism. 3. Supplemental Sources: Kafka; Korten; video: `The Global Dumping Ground' 4. Assignment: In the handout entitled The Need for Myth, Ritual, and a Spiritual Life, we are told that "a myth is a sacred story set in a time and place outside history, describing in fictional form the fundamental truths of nature and human life." Write a myth which describes the fundamental truths of what you have learned in this course. Kafka's The Bucket Rider Quotes from Bellamy's Looking Backward DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Week 10 07 May 2001		Work and Family Facilitator: Melanie Karaffa Tolan Tom Brown GUEST LECTURE(S): Patrick L. Kerwin, MBA, NCCC Patrick Kerwin is a private practice career counselor and consultant with Kerwin & Associates in San Diego and Los Angeles, California, where he assists individuals and organizations in the process of career transition, development, and planning. A National Certified Career Counselor and California Registered Professional Career Counselor, he is also an adjunct faculty member teaching "Career Planning" and part-time career & academic counselor at Santa Monica College. He is a faculty member of the Strong Interest Inventory Qualifying Training Program, where he trains individuals on the theoretical foundation, empirical background and practical applications of the Strong. In addition, Mr. Kerwin designs and delivers training for the development and operations of One-Stop Career Centers in California. Mr. Kerwin was also a Professional Development Consultant at TRW's Professional Development Center from 1998 to 1999, where he worked with individuals and groups on career development issues, and counseled Senior Staff members on continuing Executive Development. From 1993 to 1996 he was Project Director for the California Community Chancellor's Office, developing CD-ROM and video training modules for counselors in California's 106 community colleges, on topics such as Career Counseling with Special Populations and Utilizing California Labor Market Information in the Career Counseling Process. He has created a satellite Career Development Center at First Interstate Bank, where he also provided career counseling and career transition/outplacement services. Mr. Kerwin brings "real world" knowledge to his career counseling approach from over six years finance and management experience with Fortune 500 and small business organizations. Mr. Kerwin holds his MBA and Career Specialist Graduate Certificate from California State University, Long Beach. He is former President of the California Career Development Association, and was Co-Chair of the 1996 International Career Development Conference, the largest conference in the world for career development professionals. A frequent speaker at conferences, he has spoken at the International Career Development Conference, the National Career Development Conference, and the JFK University Career Development Summer Institute. Phone: (619) 295-8547. Assignment: DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Week 11 14 May 2001		Work, Passion, and Life Simplification Facilitator: Rene Sterk Robert 4. Assignment: WRITING ASSIGNMENT 5 DUE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS