About Labor Studies

Labor studies is an interdisciplinary minor that focuses on the conditions, activities, and struggles of workers and other members of the working class from an international, contemporary, comparative and historical perspective. Although trade unions are the primary focus, students will also examine other forms of working-class organizing, including community organizing, and organizing by women and people of color. Courses focus on work in formal workplaces, including service, industrial, clerical, professional, and managerial work, and may also address other forms of work, such as unpaid housework, prison labor, or work in the informal economy. The minor addresses issues affecting workers, including governmental policies, technological change, globalization, neoliberalism, and alternative models for organizing for social justice.