28 January

1. Pedagogical goals: to interrogate the concept of "work" from historical, political, cultural and philosophical perspectives.

2. Assigned Readings:
MALA 600A Readings Packet #3

Black, Bob. The Abolition of Work.

Terkel, Studs. Working. (Chapter titles: Carl Murray Bates, Walter Lundquist, Donna Murray, Roberta Victor, Nora Watson)

3. Supplemental Sources: George Santayana on work and play; Feeling of an Organism; gender, class, and work; careers, professions, and jobs; intellectual and manual work.

4. Assignment: After reading Terkel's 'Working', with an emphasis on sections on Walter Lundquist, Donna Murray, and Nora Watson, students write a sketch that represents their vision of what their working life will be like. After discussion of the different visions, students are 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), students write a paper on what life is typically like in their chosen profession and compare the emerging picture of working life to their initial vision.

04 February
11 February

1. Pedagogical goals: to reflect on the moral dimensions of work from both Western and non-Western traditions, and to apply these frameworks to a deconstruction of the concept of work.

2. Assigned Readings:
MALA 600A Readings Packet #2

Batule, Robert J. Theology of Work.

Neal, Judi. Work as Nourishment.

Rutte, Martin. Spirituality in the Workplace.

3. Supplemental Sources: The moral meaning of work in the Protestant tradition (St. Augustine, 'Work and the Christian Life'; Alexis de Tocqueville; Max Weber); the moral/redemptive character or work; work and the concept of the "good"; work and happiness; work and the concept of the "good society"; work and utopia; moral aspects of work in other religious, philosophical and contemplative traditions (i.e. Buddhism, Islam) (Shumaker, 'Small is Beautiful'; Thich Nhat Hanh); work as professional calling; the meaning and ethics of professionalism.

4. Assignment:

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

18 February

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:

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:

WRITING ASSIGNMENT 1 DUE

25 February

1. Pedagogical goals:

2. Assigned Readings:
Rifkin, Chapters 1, 7

MALA 600A Readings Packet #1

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)

3. Supplemental Sources:

4. Assignment:

04 March

Reading Report: Kerstin

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:
MALA 600A Readings Packet #15

Moore, Thomas. Care of the Soul: A Guide for Cultivating Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life. (Chapter 9)

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:

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

11 March

Reading Report: Rex

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:
MALA 600A Readings Packet #4

Campbell, Susan. Working With a Sense of the Whole: The Essence of the Community.

3. Supplemental Sources: organizational theory; scientific management (Frederick Taylor); ergonomics; 'Man in a Gray Flannel Suit;' 'The Organization Man;' Rosabeth Moss-Kanter, `Men and Women of the Corporation.'

4. Assignment:

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

WRITING ASSIGNMENT 2 DUE

18 March

Reading Report: Lisa

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:
MALA 600A Readings Packet #12

Hardt, Michael & Antonio Negri. Communism as Critique.

3. Supplemental Sources: Aronowitz; Berle and Means `The Modern Corporation and Private Property'

4. Assignment:

Quotes from Bellamy's Looking Backward

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

25 March

Reading Report: Lynn

1. Pedagogical goals: To interrogate work, citizenship, culture and language in border regions (U.S. Mexico border, Turkish workers in Germany, etc.)

2. Assigned Readings:
Kafka's 'Metamorphosis'

MALA 600A Readings Packet #7

Deleuze, Gilles & Felix Guattari. What is a Minor Literature?.

Martinez, Elizabeth & Ed McCaughan. Chicanas and Mexicanas within a Transnational Working Class.

3. Supplemental Sources: Kafka

4. Assignment:

Kafka's The Bucket Rider

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

01 April

Session Facilitators: Kathy and Kerstin

Reading Report: Victoria

1. Pedagogical goals: 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:
MALA 600A Readings Packet #10

Haraway, Donna. A Manifesto for Cyborgs: Science, Technology, and Socialist Feminism in the 1980s.

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: Korten; video: `The Global Dumping Ground'

4. Assignment:

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

WRITING ASSIGNMENT 3 DUE

08 April

15 April

Reading Report: Yasmin

Community Involvement Report: Thijs

1. Pedagogical goals:

2. Assigned Readings:
MALA 600A Readings Packet #5

Chavez, Leo. Families, Domestic Groups, and Networks.

Dalla Costa, Giovanna Franca. Development and Economic Crisis: Women's Labour and Social Policies in Venezuela in the Context of International Indebtedness.

3. Supplemental Sources:

4. Assignment:

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

22 April

Reading Report: Robert

1. Pedagogical goals: to interrogate the distinction between the "world of work" and what it means to be part of a profession, between working and career, the world of business and the world of scholarship, between practice and theory.

2. Assigned Readings:
MALA 600A Readings Packet #9

Frankl, Viktor. Man's Search for Meaning. (selected readings)

Johnson, Thomas S. How the Notion of a Calling Manifests Itself in the World of Business: One Viewpoint.

Sullivan, William M. Work and Integrity. (Introduction, Chapters 1, 5, 7, 8)

3. Supplemental Sources: Viswanathan on the origins of the field of English and British colonialism

4. Assignment:

WRITING ASSIGNMENT 4 DUE

29 April

Community Involvement Report: Rex

1. Pedagogical goals: to interrogate the distinction between the 'world of work' and the academy, between working and learning, the world of business and the world of scholarship, between practice and theory; to help the student bridge the apparent gap between their education and their career, between the academy and the world of work

2. Assigned Readings:
MALA 600A Readings Packet #3

Black, Bob. The Abolition of Work.

3. Supplemental Sources: the origins of the American university; universities and business (David Noble, America by Design); education and training; bridging the worlds of academia and business.

4. Assignment:

06 May

Reading Report: Kathy

Session Facilitators: Robert, Lynn and Lisa

1. Pedagogical goals: To provide a capping experience for the course that connects work to a sense of personal engagement and "passion."

2. Assigned Readings:
MALA 600A Readings Packet #8

Dixon, Poppy. The Right to be Lazy.

Shekerjian, Denise. For the Love of it.

3. Supplemental Sources: What is passion? How does one find work to be passionate about, or infuse one's work with passion? What is the role of work in each of our lives?

4. Assignment:

13 May

2. Assigned Readings:
MALA 600A Readings Packet #22

Whitmyer, Claude and Ernest Callenbach. Mindfulness and Meaningful Work: Explorations in Right Living. (selected readings)

WRITING ASSIGNMENT 5 DUE

20 May