Major Problems in the History of American Workers Nickel and Dimed…€¦ ·  · 2016-04-16• Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed: ... sociology, psychology, history, political science,

This syllabus represents my current plans and objectives. As we go through the

semester, those plans may need to change to enhance the class learning opportunity. Such changes, communicated clearly, are not unusual and should be expected.

HNRS 20223- Gender and Cultural Identity: Gender, Labor, and Globalization

Instructor Name: Meredith May Semester/Year: Fall 2016 Class location: Reed 331 Class Meeting time(s): T/Th: 11:00-12:20 Office: SCHAR 3018 Email: [email protected] Required text and additional resources

• Boris and Lichtenstein, editors, Major Problems in the History of American Workers, 2nd edition

• Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America • Barndt, Tangled Routes: Women, Work and Globalization on the Tomato Trail • Documents available on e-College.

You must bring copies of relevant texts (heavily annotated and carefully read) to every class.

Course Description

This course examines the evolution of work and its relationship with gender in the global economy. The first half of the course will examine labor and gender dynamics in the United States, discussing the effects of family roles, political conflicts, racial and ethnic relations, cultural movements, and economic forces from Early America to today. The second half will examine gender and labor in a global context, analyzing the roots of globalization, worker exploitation and mobilization, and current issues.

Throughout the class, we will analyze cultural belief systems, assumptions, and perspectives on both gender and work, determining what factors shape past and current structures. We will utilize texts and perspectives from multiple fields: anthropology, literature, music, sociology, psychology, history, political science, and economics to understand the complex nature of cultural systems.

The class will act as an intellectual community to critically analyze the world and our place in it.

Course Requirements

This course currently meets all or part of the following requirements for a degree:

• TCU Core Curriculum Requirement -Global Awareness -Humanities

• Requirement within the Honors College -Cultural Visions course

• Supports Mission Statement of the University

Participation (125 points):

Informed participation is expected throughout the course.

Discussion 75 points

Frequency Quality Point value Regular Well-informed, helpful 75 Occasional Well-informed, helpful 70 Regular Uninformed, unhelpful 65 Occasional Uninformed, unhelpful 60 Rare Well-informed, helpful 60 Rare Uninformed, unhelpful 50 Almost never 38

Attendance 50 points

We are a community of learners together, and each person’s attendance is vital for the experience of others as well as for that person.

Number of unexcused absences Point value Two or fewer 50 Three or four 40 Five or six unexcused 30 SEVEN OR MORE UNEXCUSED ABSENCES WILL RESULT IN FAILURE OF THE ENTIRE COURSE.

Discussion Leading (150 points):

Each student will be assigned to lead one class discussion during the semester. The student will be responsible for reading the assigned works, preparing questions for the class, and guiding group discussion for half of the class period. The student will then write a two page double-spaced response discussing the important points they gained from both the readings and discussion, how they felt discussion went, and what they would change (if anything) due in class one week after they lead discussion.

Primary Documents Reports (200 points):

Each student will complete five primary documents reports (40 points each) based on the readings from Boris and Lichtenstein or from e-College. You may choose which of the five documents on which you would like to write. These cannot be secondary sources; they must be primary documents. Ask if you are unclear on if a document is a primary or secondary source. These reading responses should be one page double-spaced and do the following:

• Summarize the document and the author’s purpose • Provide the student’s response to the document (agree or disagree with

author and why, something that surprised you, etc.) • Connect the document to broader themes, events, and issues in the class

Group Project (200 points):

Students will be divided into small groups at the beginning of the semester. Each group will be responsible for regularly blogging (on eCollege) throughout the semester on current topics related to gender and labor in an assigned geographic area (US/Americas, Asia, Africa, Europe). Your group will blog every other week on a news article, video, or social media post related to the course. You must make connections between what you post and the class that week. Posting blogs will be half (100 points) of the group project grade.

On weeks when your group does not post, you are responsible for providing an individual response to the other groups’ posts. (100 points of the grade)

This is graded based on completion. If you provide a thoughtful post and response every week, you will receive full credit.

Research Paper (225 points)

Each student will write an eight to ten page research paper on a topic of their choice.

In this paper, you will analyze a contemporary issue, either political, social, or economic, related to gender and labor. You must compare how this issue has played out in two countries, comparing and contrasting different outcomes and the reasons for those results.

Students are required to cite sources using The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th edition, 2010. Consult eCollege for links on how to properly cite.

The student must turn in a prospectus, bibliography, first draft, and a final paper.

Research paper

Prospectus due September 15 25 points

Bibliography due September 29 50 points

Draft 1 due November 10 50 points

Final paper due during final exam 100 points

TOTAL RESEARCH PAPER GRADES 225 points

Random Readings Quizzes (100 points):

Keeping up with the readings in this class is extremely important. In order to keep students prepared for in-class discussion, there will be random quizzes on the readings throughout the semester. Understanding that life does sometimes get in the way, the lowest quiz grade will be dropped at the end of the semester. These quizzes will be a combination of multiple choice, true/false, and short answer. Make-up quizzes are only allowed with excused absences.

Learning Outcomes

Explain and analyze the relationship between gender and labor patterns in the United

States and around the world.

Analyze the intersectionality between gender, race, class, ethnicity, sexuality, and nationality in determining systems of work and labor.

Interpret information from a wide range of materials from a variety of disciplinary perspectives.

Demonstrate the ability to examine and accurately explain the mores, values, worldviews, and/or sensitivities of other cultures through the selection and use of appropriate tools and processes. (TCU Honors College Cultural Visions Learning Outcome)

Analyze questions about the nature and value of human life as embodied in the traditions of the humanities. (TCU Core Curriculum Humanities Learning Outcome)

Demonstrate the ability to develop informed judgments about global issues. (TCU Core Curriculum Global Awareness Outcome)

Instructional Methods

This course is formed around the students. Therefore, students are responsible for attending class, participating in discussion, reading assigned texts, and completing assignments. Students will learn what kinds of materials are available to them to learn and grow through technological resources in our library and community. Through class discussion and assignments, students will develop their writing abilities, critical thinking skills, and perspectives on global issues. We will become a community of scholars, sharing and analyzing ideas, thoughts, opinions and perspectives.

Course Policies and Requirements

Grading

Final Grade Elements:

Percent / Point Value

Item

125 points Participation 225 points Research Paper 150 points Leading Discussion 200 points Group Project

200 points Primary Documents Report 100 points Random Readings Quizzes 1000 points Total possible

Final Numerical Grade Calculation (+/-):

A 4.00 – Excellent A- 3.67 B+ 3.33 B 3.00 – Good B- 2.67 C+ 2.33 C 2.00 – Satisfactory C- 1.67 D+ 1.33 D 1.00 – Poor D- 0.67 F 0.00 – Failing

P – Passed the course.

NC – No credit awarded for the course.

Final Letter Grade Calculation:

Grade Score A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79 D 60-69 F 0-59

Statement of Disability Services at TCU

Disability Statement approved Fall 2007 by the Undergraduate Council / Revised Summer 2011 Disabilities Statement: Texas Christian University complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 regarding students with disabilities. Eligible students seeking accommodations should contact the Coordinator of Student Disabilities Services in the Center for Academic Services located

in Sadler Hall, 1010. Accommodations are not retroactive, therefore, students should contact the Coordinator as soon as possible in the term for which they are seeking accommodations. Further information can be obtained from the Center for Academic Services, TCU Box 297710, Fort Worth, TX 76129, or at (817) 257-6567. Adequate time must be allowed to arrange accommodations and accommodations are not retroactive; therefore, students should contact the Coordinator as soon as possible in the academic term for which they are seeking accommodations. Each eligible student is responsible for presenting relevant, verifiable, professional documentation and/or assessment reports to the Coordinator. Guidelines for documentation may be found at http://www.acs.tcu.edu/disability_documentation.asp. Students with emergency medical information or needing special arrangements in case a building must be evacuated should discuss this information with their instructor/professor as soon as possible.

Academic Misconduct:

Academic Misconduct (Sec. 3.4 from the Student Handbook) –Any act that violates the academic integrity of the institution is considered academic misconduct. The procedures used to resolve suspected acts of academic misconduct are available in the offices of Academic Deans and the Office of Campus Life and are listed in detail in the Undergraduate Catalog (Student Policies>Academic Conduct Policy Details; http://www.catalog.tcu.edu/current_year/undergraduate/). Specific examples include, but are not limited to:

• Cheating: Copying from another student’s test paper, laboratory report, other report, or computer files and listings; using, during any academic exercise, material and/or devices not authorized by the person in charge of the test; collaborating with or seeking aid from another student during a test or laboratory without permission; knowingly using, buying, selling, stealing, transporting, or soliciting in its entirety or in part, the contents of a test or other assignment unauthorized for release; substituting for another student or permitting another student to substitute for oneself.

• Plagiarism: The appropriation, theft, purchase or obtaining by any means another’s work, and the unacknowledged submission or incorporation of that work as one’s own offered for credit. Appropriation includes the quoting or paraphrasing of another’s work without giving credit therefore.

• Collusion: The unauthorized collaboration with another in preparing work offered for credit.

**Netiquette: Communication Courtesy Code

All members of the class are expected to follow rules of common courtesy in all email messages, threaded discussions and chats. If I deem any of them to be inappropriate or offensive, I will forward the message to the Chair of the department and the online

administrators and appropriate action will be taken, not excluding expulsion from the course. The same rules apply online as they do in person. Be respectful of other students. Foul discourse will not be tolerated. Please take a moment and read the following link concerning "netiquette".

http://www.albion.com/netiquette/

Participating in the virtual realm, including social media sites and shared-access sites sometimes used for educational collaborations, should be done with honor and integrity:

http://ctlt.ubc.ca/distance-learning/learner-support/communicating-online-netiquette/

Technology (laptops, phones, iPads) is allowed, but if it becomes a distraction for you or your colleagues, I retain the right to ask you to put the device away.

Pearson LearningStudio (eCollege)

• If you experience any technical problems during your usage of Pearson LearningStudio, please do not hesitate to contact the HELP DESK (at Pearson LearningStudio). They can be reached by phone or by chat 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.

phone: 1-800-826-1665 chat: http://247support.custhelp.com Click “Start a Live Chat” at the top of the page. Users can access these options by clicking the Tech Support tab from within a course shell.

For questions about logging into Pearson LearningStudio (eCollege) visit the online video: http://www.elearning.tcu.edu/resources/howtologinvideo/howtologinvideo.asp

Students will be using eCollege to access readings, view announcements, and find information on assignments.

TCU Campus Resources for Students

**TCU Campus Resources for Students: Many resources exist on the TCU campus that may be helpful to students: Mary Couts Burnett Library (257-7117); Center for Academic Services (257-7486, Sadler Hall. 1022); the William L. Adams Writing Center (257-7221, Reed Hall 419); Student Development Services (257-7855, BLUU 2003); and

Office of Religious & Spiritual Life (257-7830, Jarvis Hall), Campus Life (257-7926, Sadler Hall 2006), and the Counseling, Testing, and Mental Health Center (257-7863, Brown Lupton Health Center).

**Email Notification: Only the official TCU student email address will be used for all course notification. It is your responsibility to check your TCU email on a regular basis.

Course Schedule

Day

Date Topic Reading (EC: on e-College;

PD: Primary Documents from

Boris and Lichtenstein)

Assignment

1 Aug. 23 Introduction to Course and each other.

Class discussion on femininity and masculinity as constructions. Overview of labor and labor systems.

2 Aug. 25 The Meaning of Work, Gender, and Labor in the US

-Ehrenreich, 7-16 -EC, Swados

Discussion on what labor patterns exist in the United States today. Labor regulations, laws, and relationship to gender.

3 Aug. 30 The Labor System of Early America

-PD, pgs. 20-27 Discuss the creation of the labor system in America from the colonial period to the twentieth-century. Discuss restrictions and opportunities based on gender, race, and class. Groups A and C post blog

4 Sept. 1 Gender, Slavery, and Segregation

-EC, Eugene Genovese -PD, pgs. 92-95

Discuss race, gender, and work, the creation of slavery, and the legacy

5 Sept. 6 Slavery cont. -PD, pgs. 96-103 Groups B and D post

-EC, Daina Ramsey Berry excerpts from “Swing the Sickle…”

blog

6 Sept. 8 Library Day Meet in library for introduction to databases and resources Primary Doc Report 1 due in class.

7 Sept. 13 Industrial Conflict and the Rise of Unions

-PD, pgs. 130-48 -EC, “Bread and Roses” speech -EC, watch video on the Triangle Fire

Discuss the rise of unions, and the role of women in the movement. Groups A and C post blog

8 Sept. 15 Gender and Economic Depression

-PD, pgs. 202-219 -EC, oral histories from the Great Depression (select 3 to hear, come to class prepared to discuss) -EC, “Gender equality in the US labor markets in the 'great recession' 2007-10”

Discuss how gender systems change based on economic depressions/recessions. Compare economic reactions and public policies of Great Depression to Great Recession Prospectus due in class.

9 Sept. 20 Gender, Work, and War -PD, 334-60 -EC, “Gender at Work: The Dynamics of Job Segregation by Sex during World War II” EC: Excerpt from A Few Good Women

Discuss how gendered systems of labor change in response to war. Compare WWI, WWII, and Vietnam. Groups B and D post blog

10 Sept. 22 Postwar Constructions of Female and Male Work

-EC, “Two Worlds of Unionism” -PD, pgs. 459-71

Discuss how gender affected work and labor practices in the postwar period, effects of suburbanization, and affluence.

11 Sept. 27 Postwar Constructions of Female and Male

-EC, “Not June Cleaver”

Groups A and C post blog

Work, cont. -EC, Collection of advertisements, job postings, and images

12 Sept. 29 Work and the Feminist Revolution

-EC, Title 9 -EC, Excerpt from “Radical Feminism” -EC, Interview with Betty Friedan

Discuss the changes brought by the Civil Rights Movement and feminism Bibliography due. Primary Doc Report 2 due in class.

13 Oct. 4 Work and the Feminist Revolution, cont.

-EC, “The LGBT Challenge to American Labor”

Groups B and D post blog

14 Oct. 6 “Having it All” American Women and Work at the Turn of the Century

-EC: “A Toxic Work World;” -EC: “Graduating to a Pay Gap”

Discuss the conflict between family roles and work

15 Oct. 11 “Having it All” cont. -EC: “The Second Shift” -EC: National Women’s Law Center Report on the Pay Gap

Groups A and C post blog

16 Oct. 13 Masculinity and Work in the New Millenium

EC: “Men Do More at Home;” EC: “Stay-at-home fathers: Masculinity, family, work, and gender stereotypes”

Discuss the changing relationship between masculinity and work.

17 Oct. 18 Gender and the US Military

EC: “The Remasculinization of America: Gender and the Vietnam War” EC: Excerpt from Vuic’s Officer, Nurse, Woman

Discuss the role of gender in the military, women in combat roles, and the role of masculinity. Guest speaker: Dr. Kara Vuic Groups B and D post blog

18 Oct. 20 Gender and the Service Industry

Ehrenreich, assigned chapter

Discuss the growing service industry and the unique problems of that economic sector. Primary Doc Report

3 due in class. 19 Oct. 25 Unpaid Labor in the US

Economy EC: “Representing Informal Economy Workers” EC: “Should Stay-at-Home Parents Get Wages for Housework?”

Discuss the issues and possible solutions for caregivers, stay-at-home parents, and other unpaid laborers Groups A and C post blog

20 Oct. 27 Introduction to Globalization

Barndt, Introduction and assigned chapter

Discuss multiple theories on globalization, gender, and modern economics

21 Nov. 1 Clothing and Textiles EC, Excerpts from Unraveling the Garment Industry: Transnational Organizing & Women’s Work

Discuss how the textile industry has evolved and shaped the global market. Groups B and D post blog

22 Nov. 3 Food and Agriculture Bardnt, Assigned chapter

Discuss the interconnected aspects of global agriculture

23 Nov. 8 Wal-Mart and the Wal-Mart Effect

-EC, “Made in China: Work and Wages in Walmart Supplier Factories” -EC, “Practicing Cheer”

Discuss the role of Wal-Mart and similar corporations in globalization and development of gendered cultural patterns Groups A and C post blog

24 Nov. 10 Wal-Mart cont. -EC, Excerpt from To Serve God and Wal-Mart

First draft of research paper due

25 Nov. 15 Domestic Work -EC, “Transgressing the nation state: The partial citizenship and "Imagined global community: of migrant Filipina Domestic workers”

Discuss the issues and problems of global domestic work. Groups B and D post blog

26 Nov. 17 Global Labor Rights -EC, “With a little help from my friends... Partisan politics,

Explore problems facing workers and possible solutions that have been explored.

transnational alliances and labor rights in Latin America” -EC, “Women Crossing Borders to Organize”

Evaluate attempts to organize and enact change. Primary Doc Report 4 due in class.

27 Nov. 22 Finance and Micro Loans: A Solution?

-EC, “Globalization, gender and poverty: Bangladeshi women workers in export and local markets;” “Women, microfinance, and savings: Lessons and proposals”

Discuss the role of micro-loans to women to start small businesses. Evaluate effectiveness. Groups A and C post blog

28 Nov. 29 Migration -EC, Excerpts from The Force of Domesticity: Filipina Migrants and Globalization

Discuss global migration and gender.

29 Dec. 1 Sexuality and Globalization

-EC, “Circuits of queer mobility: Tourism, travel and globalization”

Discuss the changing cultural norms related to sexuality and the evolution of economic sectors in response to changing mores. Groups B and D post blog

30 Dec. 6 Coerced Labor in the Global Economy

-EC, “The difference borders make: (Il)legality, migration and trafficking in Italy among eastern European women in prostitution”

Discuss the problems of coerced labor including modern slavery and trafficking. Analyze and evaluate solutions. Primary Doc Report 5 due in class.

31 Dec. 8 Dead Day 32 Dec. 13 Final Research Paper Due

TCU Mission

To educate individuals to think and act as ethical leaders and responsible citizens in the global community