The Sociology of Work and Employment

Work and employment have the ability to promote economic security as well as reinforce poverty, provide meaning as well as induce alienation, generate collaboration as well as reproduce difference. Indeed, work and employment are central components of the human experience and structure significant portions of our lives. This course introduces students to current theoretical and empirical issues in sociological scholarship on work and employment. The substantive topics covered in this course will include job search and finding work, the hiring process, changing employment relations, job loss and unemployment, racial and gender stratification at work, unpaid labor and care work, as well as work and family intersections. Theoretical and methodological innovation in recent scholarship will be highlighted throughout the course. The course will culminate with students developing a proposal for a research project designed to address a significant gap in existing scholarship on work and employment.