Our identity is influenced by how we look at ourselves-as men and women, as working or middle class, as white or black or some other racial and/or ethnic mix, as a citizen or an 'illegal' immigrant. It is also shaped by the way society perceives us, puts us into certain groups. Indeed, since they often build off existing patterns of economic, social and political inequality, these broader social perceptions shape our opportunities for a full life. This course explores the interaction between our individual lives and broader historical process and structural patterns. In doing so, students delve into the 'problem of solidarity.' Unionists know that solidarity is the basis for strength. However, it is not something that can be taken for granted. It is an imaginative process, an active intellectual struggle, in which working men and women of all backgrounds discover and re-discover common ground. It is also only offered in-class at the college’s Harry J. Van Arsdale Jr. Schoolfor Labor Studies in New York City. This course is offered as part of union partnership programs and is open to non-partnership students subject to availability.

Attributes: Social Science Gen Ed, *Diversity Gen Ed, *Social Sciences Gen Ed, Liberal

This course offers an introductory but also systematic study of world history. Too often, world history is told as if each society or nation-state or region functioned as a discrete political, economic and cultural unit, its success or failure over time determined by some inherent strength or weakness. In this class the goal is to explore different perspectives. We will examine how environmental circumstances may have given some societies advantages that others lacked. Students also will also study the hows and whys of the rise and fall of regional civilizations by paying close attention to the connections-created by trade, conquest, and the exploitation of nature and human labor-between these civilizations. It is only offered in-class at the college’s Harry J. Van Arsdale Jr. School for Labor Studies in New York City. This course is offered as part of union partnership programs and is open to non-partnership students subject to availability.

Attributes: Other World Civilization Gn Ed, *World Hist & Glb Awnss Gen Ed, Liberal

This course is designed to help students develop their research, written and oral communication skills as they learn about current economic, political and social issues important for working people. The guiding context for this course is how the winners in our economic system have come to thoroughly dominate our politics, exacerbating both the economic gap between the wealthy and the rest, and the political gap between what the majority of the public-the working and middle classes-want from their political system and what they actually get. As we read though the texts and articles, we will discuss the main themes, understand the arguments, and grasp the empirical evidence presented in preparation for student’s choosing a topic and presenting it to their peers. It is also only offered in-class at the college’s Harry J. Van Arsdale Jr. School for Labor Studies in New York City. Prerequisites: None Corequisites: None This course is offered as part of union partnership programs and is open to non-partnership students subject to availability.

Attributes: Social Science Gen Ed, Liberal

This course provides students with the tools that are necessary for understanding the economy in general and the economic conditions of an industry such as the construction industry. What is economic efficiency and when is a particular market, either a labor market or the market for a specific product, efficient? Is it true that everything depends upon 'supply and demand'? If so, how are supply and demand determined? How are prices, wages and profits determined? Why is full employment not ever permanent? The course also provides the tools required to analyze the proper role of the government and the effect of its finances on the economy. The effects of labor laws (e.g., minimum wage, unemployment insurance, and 'right to work' laws), the provision of governmental services (e.g., public transportation, schools, infrastructure), and of full-employment policies on the economy in general and on the conditions of workers and management in the construction in industry in particular are examined. The issues involved with taxation by the different levels of government are also explored. This course is offered as part of union partnership programs and is open to non-partnership students subject to availability. It is also only offered in-class through the college’s Harry J. Van Arsdale Jr. School of Labor Studies in New York City.

Attributes: Social Science Gen Ed, *Social Sciences Gen Ed, Liberal

'Literature and Society for Workers' provides an opportunity to read novels, poems, and plays about the experiences of working people, and the dramatic situations that their work can create for them. The texts discussed in this course are chosen for the unique stories they tell about individuals attempting to improve their own living situations, and the challenges they face from friends, enemies and the social structures around them. It allows students to consider the struggles of (primarily) fictional characters and the efforts required to bring resolution to their personal challenges. It is also only offered in-class at the college’s Harry J. Van Arsdale Jr. School of Labor Studies in New York City. This course is offered as part of union partnership programs and is open to non-partnership students subject to availability.

Attributes: Humanities Gen Ed, *Humanities Gen Ed, Liberal

Social Practice describes a conversation between the arts and the social sciences and an engagement in the creative process in ways that are relevant to students' lives as workers and citizens. People who are a part of this conversation can be practitioners educated in, inspired by, or who adopt methods, ideas and attitudes from conventional and historical art forms. They then use these artistic approaches to address major questions in social life or to affect it in a variety of ways. This first practitioner makes an art out of being social. Or, secondly, it can describe practitioners who are educated in, inspired by, or who adopt methods, ideas and attitudes from the social sciences. Thus, Social Practice is an experiment, which could begin with asking a series of questions. These questions are answered in many different ways, using our thoughts, our actions and a variety of materials. Prerequisites: None Corequisites: None This course is offered as part of union partnership programs and is open to non-partnership students subject to availability.

Attributes: Arts Gen Ed, Liberal

This course is designed to build students' reading ability, confidence and fluency--to help them get through texts that are challenging or boring, to help them read more quickly, and to learn strategies to help them read with the analytic eye that instructors expect. All reading texts are labor-centric, providing students with the opportunity to think about, reflect on, and discuss the values of trade unionists. The meaning of labor and work will be explored through texts that challenge students in a variety of ways. Students will become adept at reading labor texts in order to prepare them for ensuing labor courses. This course is offered as part of union partnership programs and is open to non-partnership students subject to availability. It is also only offered in-class at the college’s Harry J. Van Arsdale Jr. School for Labor Studies in New York City.

Attributes: Humanities Gen Ed, Liberal

This course provides students with the opportunity to spend a semester working intensively on their writing and writing process, while reflecting on the values of being a trade unionist. Students will use writing as a meaning-making tool, by engaging in all stages of the writing process as they critically consider a variety of texts that address what it means to take pride in one’s work, as well as the worth of being a skilled craftsperson. In reading, writing, discussion and research assignments, students will be engaged in reflecting critically on how work is represented and understood in the course readings. While there is a fair amount of reading to be done in this class, this is primarily a course that supports and extends students abilities to express themselves in writing. This course is offered as part of union partnership programs and is open to non-partnership students subject to availability. It is also only offered in-class through the college’s Harry J. Van Arsdale Jr. School of Labor Studies in New York City.

Attributes: Basic Communication Gen Ed, *Communication Gen Ed-Oral, *Communication Gen Ed-Written, Liberal

This study and workshop is primarily concerned with the evolution of contemporary forms of representation through various mediums with particular focus on themes relevant to the worker. The study of art works in a variety of media that engage subject matter such as economic inclusion, environmental justice, and gender and racial equality in intersection with Labor will culminate in the creation of the student’s own creative project(s). The mediums will be explored as powerful tools of communication as well as vehicles for personal and collective worker expression. The option of special focus on one principal medium in depth may exist, both as on object of study and as a creative process to employ in one’s own final art project and maybe offered in concert with the expertise of the instructor. This course is offered as part of union partnership programs and is open to non-partnership students subject to availability. It is also only offered in-class through the college’s Harry J. Van Arsdale Jr. School for Labor Studies in New York City.

Attributes: Arts Gen Ed, *The Arts Gen Ed, Liberal

This course provides an overview of the rise of collective bargaining in public education, primarily in New York City and New York State, but also nationally. It focuses; in particular, on the effect unionization and collective bargaining have on students, teachers, administrators and school systems. In addition to examining existing models of unionization, students also consider alternative forms of work organization and “stakeholder relations” in schools, which proponents claim will encourage continued improvement in the schools and be increasingly relevant to the emerging ‘knowledge economy’.

This course provides an overview of the struggle for public education in the United States from the 18th century to the present. This struggle has been the means by which new groups – wage earners, slaves, women, immigrants and others–pursued and won inclusion into an expanded (and still expanding) body of citizens in the US. By insisting upon and gaining access to public education, they helped secure their own claims to equality and created new opportunities for advancement for themselves and their descendants. The nature and effect of these struggles, the education opportunities created and lost, as well as the challenges we face educating the next generation of citizens, are central concerns of this course.

Attributes: Liberal

This course covers the basics of economics. Some of the topics explored are: What is economic efficiency and how can it be enhanced?; How are wages and profits determined; What is the role of government and what is the efficient level of taxes? Implications for education and education policy are explored throughout. The course is designed for students with an interest, though not necessarily a background, in economics. It does not use mathematics, although some basic arithmetic will come into play. The aim of the course is to give the student a thorough understanding of the key concepts and theories of different schools of economics and to better understand how these concepts relate specifically to their lives and the lives of their family members. In each case, the history of economic thought will be traced, along with the historical context of the ideas involved.

Attributes: Social Science Gen Ed, Liberal

Students have the opportunity to develop individualized studies with their mentor in Labor (LABR). Please contact your mentor/advisor for more details.

The course introduces students to examine American history through the struggles and victories of American workers. The American Revolution, the Civil War, Immigration and the Creation of the Working Class and the post-World War II era are the four key sections in history that will be examined. Working with primary documents, scholarly articles, and handouts, students explore the consequences and contested meaning of key episodes paying special attention to the role of working people in the development of the relative prosperity of the economy and the democratic inspiration of the country’s governing institutions. Students will also gain an understanding of how US workers and their institutions fit in with broader shifts in the national and international political economy. It is also only offered in-class at the college’s Harry J. Van Arsdale Jr. School for Labor Studies in New York City.

Attributes: American History Gen Ed, *US History & Civ Engmt Gen Ed, Liberal

Students have the opportunity to develop individualized studies with their mentor in Labor (LABR). Please contact your mentor/advisor for more details.

In the Collective Bargaining course, we will study the roles of all of the participants in the proceedings- both union and management, and the roles of those in authority they are responsible to, the bargaining committee’s responsibility to their constituents, and what kind of effect those constituents can have on the outcome of bargaining. Among the topics that will be explored will be the law as it effects the bargaining process, the duty to bargain, different tactics in bargaining, impasses, strike, and lockouts, management rights, union rights and responsibilities, costing out of contracts, the mediation and arbitration processes, dispute resolution procedure, basic labor law, and the history of labor unions in this country. It is also only offered in-class at the college’s Harry J. Van Arsdale Jr. School for Labor Studies in New York City. Prerequisites: None Corequisites: None This course is offered as part of union partnership programs and is open to non-partnership students subject to availability.

Attributes: Social Science Gen Ed, Liberal

This course examines the social and political phenomena of migration and borders, tracing how they impact workers, labor markets, and the policy discussions that aim to address the issue of immigration. Using the tools of social science and critical analysis, we will analyze the global dynamics of migration, as well as the economics and cultural politics of undocumented immigration in the US. We will place these issues in historical and contemporary context, looking at both the evolution of immigration controls, how they are experienced by migrants, and how the US Labor Movement has responded. This will allow the class to move toward a framework that sees the limited rights & inadequate labor protections of the undocumented as the root issues. The class will also assess recent literature that presents possible solutions, and explores whether such proposals hold the potential to break away from the current deadlock and transform a system that enables exploitation. It is also only offered in-class at the college’s Harry J. Van Arsdale Jr. School for Labor Studies in New York City.

Attributes: Social Science Gen Ed, *Social Sciences Gen Ed, Liberal

The American Labor Movement was directly or partially responsible for enormous changes in American society in the twentieth century. Unions raised the wages, improved the living standards and increased the opportunities for millions of workers from diverse backgrounds and communities across the country. While the overall record is far from perfect, many unions supported the Civil Rights movement and other social justice causes, struggled to protect workers in the face of sweeping changes in the national and international political economy, and encouraged individuals to participate actively in the civic and political life of the nation. Indeed, to study the US labor movement is not just to study union organizing, collective bargaining, and labor legislation. It is to study how it has impacted the way workers lived their lives, and how it has shaped the role a diverse working class has played in the making of American society and American democracy. Students will analyze the history of Labor in NYC as a particular example. This course is offered in-person at the college’s Harry J. Van Arsdale Jr. School for Labor Studies in New York City.

Attributes: American History Gen Ed, *US History & Civ Engmt Gen Ed, Liberal

The dynamics and makeup of our workplaces, communities, industry, and unions are rapidly changing. Drawing from fiction, published reports, scholarly journals, guest speakers, discussions and films, this class will analyze the historical and societal forces that drive the cultural dynamics of race, gender, orientation, nationality and power at work. How are the identities constructed through these dynamics expressed at the workplace, in your union, and your community? What are the costs of a workplace culture that defines who is 'in' and who is 'out'? What have unions done to respond to changing social dynamics of an increasingly diverse workforce and what are the bedrock principles of solidarity leading us forward? It is offered face to at the college’s Harry J. Van Arsdale Jr. School for Labor Studies in New York City. It is also offered online.

Attributes: Social Science Gen Ed, *Diversity Gen Ed, Liberal

The course will give the student basic knowledge of descriptive and inferential statistics as well as knowledge of the main concepts of economics. The student will learn how to use this knowledge to evaluate both empirical and qualitative economic arguments. In addition, the student will gain a critical understanding of the way that social and news media transmit messages and analyses that affect our opinions, our decisions and the choices we make. Thus the student will be able to choose policies that will support the kind of society they envision for themselves and their families. This course is offered as part of union partnership programs and is open to non-partnership students subject to availability. It is only offered in-class through the college’s Harry J. Van Arsdale Jr. School of Labor Studies in New York City.

Attributes: Mathematics Gen Ed, *Mathematics Gen Ed, Liberal

The purpose of Educational Planning for Labor Studies is for each student to design and complete a degree program that will 1) fulfill the College’s degree requirements, and, 2) allow the choosing of degree-related courses of interest. Students have the option of choosing to pursue a bachelor’s degree in labor studies or enroll in the 20-credit program. Students will develop their educational plans in the context of investigating trade unions as collective organizations, fundamental to a democratic society. The course asks students to consider and discuss the challenges working people and union members face in today’s economy and the role of the critical/intellectual 'skills' that one acquires through a liberal arts based college education in meeting these challenges. Within this context, the course asks students to consider and discuss the purpose and role of a college education - particularly for working people and union members. It is also only offered in-class at the college’s Harry J. Van Arsdale Jr. School for Labor Studies in New York City.

Attributes: Liberal

It is often said that 'Cost estimating is an art, not a science' - and that there is legitimate disagreement as to what constitutes reasonable costs even when plans, specifications, site, and labor and material costs are identical for all bidders. This course introduces students to estimating for the general construction trades, as well as to the review of construction procedures and trade practices. Students examine management techniques from the standpoint of bid preparation, take-off, and bid submissions. It is also only offered in-class at the college’s Harry J. Van Arsdale Jr. School for Labor Studies in New York City. Prerequisites: .

This class will examine texts from the field of the philosophy of education as they relate to different groups of working people in different circumstances and social structures. The readings will examine the role of workers' education in organized labor, a college prison program, and in a reconceptualization of the content of "blue-collar" work. All education, of course, promotes personal growth and transformation; however, we will evaluate the more philosophical idea that worker's education, rooted in the working class experience, struggles, and values is essential for imagining and achieving the kind of society we desire for ourselves and our families -- indeed, for a more robust labor movement and a more democratic society.

Attributes: Humanities Gen Ed, Liberal

This course enables students to gain an understanding of the hazardous conditions that workers face on the job, various occupational safety and health regulations, and the relationship between the workplace and the environment, particularly climate change. Thousands of workers die each year while working; communities are effected by toxins leaking into the air and into water supplies and changing our overall climate. Workers on the job face bullying, inappropriate behavior and other types of discrimination that create unsafe working environments. Are current local, state and federal laws adequate for protecting workers, their families and our communities? What are some solutions for making our working conditions and our communities safer and what role can trade unions play? This course is offered as part of union partnership programs and is open to non-partnership students subject to availability. It is also only offered in-class at the college’s Harry J. Van Arsdale Jr. School for Labor Studies in New York City.

Attributes: Liberal

This study is primarily concerned with contemporary public art primarily in New York City with some focus on works made for the worker and/or a working class consciousness either through studying the work of others or by the creation of the student’s own creative project. The assigned readings and presentations introduce the complex relationship between aesthetics and the development and life of the city in public art, and its ever-changing relationship with architecture and urban planning. Students will consider issues such as the importance of the role of art and artists in society, how public art addresses-- or is addressed-- by issues of race, class, and gender. We shall also study the hierarchical relationships between craft and art and how the student’s own electricians trade might be considered or reconsidered. It is also only offered in-class at the college’s Harry J. Van Arsdale Jr. School for Labor Studies in New York City. Prerequisites: .

Attributes: Arts Gen Ed, *The Arts Gen Ed, Liberal

This course will provide a thorough overview of the laws governing labor and employment relations with an emphasis on private sector unions. the purpose of the course is to (a) familiarize students with an array of laws affecting the workplace and worker rights, and (b) develop your understanding of how these legal concepts are practiced in the real world. the goal of the course is to provide students with a basic understanding of the relevant laws as well as the necessary legal skills to work effectively as an employee and union member.

Attributes: Social Science Gen Ed, Liberal

Today the power of unions is challenged by growing inequality, globalization, emerging technologies as well as changes in the law and in the structure of industries and work. These developments have spawned demands for stronger, more visionary leadership in unions. Drawing on a variety of social science and historic research, this course applies leadership and organizational theories to a union context in order to examine and analyze the leadership models, practices, and approaches we find in contemporary unions that lead to successful democratic unions. It is also only offered in-class at the college’s Harry J. Van Arsdale Jr. School for Labor Studies in New York City. Prerequisites: .

Attributes: Liberal

This course examines the roles of workers and their organizations from colonial American times to the present. The goals are to develop informed and critical analyses of these historical developments and to draw conclusions about them in ways that make sense to the student. Students will critically examine and discuss labor as a form of economic, political, and social expression; will learn how to identify, understand, and appreciate labor traditions in their historical, critical, and socio-cultural contexts; and will learn to differentiate economic, political, social, and organizational traditions. The course will also consider the manner in which both unionized and non-unionized work developed. This will include discussing how gender, race, and ethnicity have influenced workers in America. Course activities require students to observe, discuss and write about labor from critical and analytical perspectives, including cultural, historical, sociological, political, and philosophical frameworks. This course is offered online. This course was previously LAB-263704 United States Labor History.

Attributes: American History Gen Ed, *US History & Civ Engmt Gen Ed, Liberal

This course examines the development of workplace relations in the building trades from both a union and nonunion perspective. It familiarizes the student with an array of laws affecting the construction workplace, as well as the jurisdictional issues that frame the obligations of labor unions in the building trades and shape the realities they face. Students will also examine the complexities of labor-management cooperation on the job, the process of negotiations between labor and management, and the impact of labor organizing. It is also only offered in-class at the college’s Harry J. Van Arsdale Jr. School for Labor Studies in New York City.

Attributes: Liberal

In this course, students will explore the role of Labor in the political process of the U.S. both historically and what’s happening today. Students will be required to engage in and work with a campaign - for a candidate running for either local or national office, or a campaign for a referendum question. Topics covered in the course will include: the presidential electoral process, the issues and arguments in this campaign cycle, what should Labor seek from candidates, the relationship between the Democrats and Labor, the role of volunteerism in a campaign, and how campaigns fit into the future of the Labor Movement Labor in this country. It is also only offered in-class at the college’s Harry J. Van Arsdale Jr. School for Labor Studies in New York City.

Attributes: Social Science Gen Ed, Liberal

Globalization' is a term that we hear or read about almost everyday in the media. Some say globalization is inevitable and good for the economy and should be encouraged; others say globalization is detrimental to society and must be controlled. 'Labor and the Global Workplace' will explore a variety of basic questions that surround this debate: What exactly is globalization? What are the causes of globalization? Is globalization beneficial or detrimental for working people? How do we see the future of globalization? What should labor’s response be to globalization? Prerequisites: None Corequisites: None This course is offered as part of union partnership programs and is open to non-partnership students subject to availability.

Attributes: Social Science Gen Ed, Liberal

In this course we will explore social scientific perspectives on historical and contemporary class relations in the US, with a focus on the role of the labor movement. The foundational text is C.W. Mills’ classic from 1959, The Sociological Imagination, which still resonates as a call for a publicly engaged social science. In addition to Mills, the class will examine case studies from sociology, historical sociology and labor history, which will provide further methodological and theoretical guidance for empirically sound approaches to class analysis that situates workers and worker organizations in historical and/or contemporary power relations.

Attributes: Social Science Gen Ed, *Social Sciences Gen Ed, Liberal

The course focuses on the planning and building of two generations of the World Trade Center: the original twin towers and the new Freedom Tower complex. How did these extraordinary feats of engineering and construction grow out of Lower Manhattan, once a great port and epicenter of global finance? And what can these towers - built on a site where natural forces and human conflict repeatedly intersect - tell us about the history and possible futures of the city our labor makes real? It is also only offered in-class at the college’s Harry J. Van Arsdale Jr. School for Labor Studies in New York City.

Attributes: Social Science Gen Ed, Liberal

This course is not simply an introduction into how unions work and the benefits they bring to working people. While these matters will be covered, the heart of the course will be an in depth and critical exploration, using important concepts and methods of social sciences, of the foundational principles of trade unionism. A few of these come easily to mind: solidarity; an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work; the right to collectively bargain over terms and conditions of work. Other “principles” can be more complicated, extending beyond a particular group of workers and workplaces to more general economic, political, and cultural realms: unions as institutions of broad class solidarity and collective power, engaged in a struggle for a just and democratic society. Too often these days, unions are cast as a special interest group, out only for themselves. This course will shift that narrative by re-discovering the labor movement as a social movement. It is also only offered in-class at the college’s Harry J. Van Arsdale Jr. School for Labor Studies in New York City. Prerequisites: .

Attributes: Social Science Gen Ed, *Social Sciences Gen Ed, Liberal

Project management is the overall planning, co-ordination and control of a project from inception to completion aimed at meeting a client's requirements in order to produce a functionally and financially viable project that will be completed on time within authorized cost and to the required quality standards. Project management is the process by which a project is brought to a successful conclusion. The purpose of project management is to manage and to ensure the most efficient way of utilization of limited resources (budget, time, labor, material, etc.) such that the output would be maximized. Construction project management (CPM) is project management that applies to the construction sector. It is also only offered in-class at the college’s Harry J. Van Arsdale Jr. School for Labor Studies in New York City. Prerequisites: .

In this course, students will examine public sector labor relations and the key similarities and differences between private sector and public sector labor relations. Students will study the historical development of public sector labor relations to better understand the current environment in which it exists. Students will analyze the connections among culture, law, work environment, economics, politics, and personalities and how these factors enhance and/or impeding public sector labor relations. Students will have the opportunity to examine these issues in particular sectors such as health care, education, and the protective services. Finally, students will assess and discuss the positive and negative ramifications of changes in labor relations for public sector workers, unions, and the employers with whom they interact. Prerequisites: None Corequisites: None This course is offered online. This course was previously BME-213664. LABR 3110 is cross listed with HRMS 3110.

Cross-listed with HRMS 3110.

This course examines New York City’s economy and the role of politics in directing its growth and distributing its rewards. Its hinge is the Fiscal Crisis of 1975, an event that marked a dramatic shift in the way city government planned for economic growth, interacted with the private sector, and served the people of New York. More specifically, course readings, brief lectures and class discussions will focus on the forces that have shaped life in the city before, during, and after the Fiscal Crisis: the labor movement; public sector institutions; the real estate industry; a widening gap between rich and poor; the privatization of public services. It is also only offered in-class at the college’s Harry J. Van Arsdale Jr. School for Labor Studies in New York City.

Attributes: Social Science Gen Ed, *Social Sciences Gen Ed, Liberal

The purpose of Educational Planning for Labor Studies is for each student to design and complete a degree program that will 1) fulfill the College’s degree requirements, and, 2) allow the choosing of degree-related courses of interest. Students have the option of choosing to pursue a bachelor’s degree in labor studies or enroll in the 20-credit program. Students will develop their educational plans in the context of investigating trade unions as collective organizations, fundamental to a democratic society. The course asks students to consider and discuss the challenges working people and union members face in today’s economy and the role of the critical/intellectual "skills" that one acquires through a liberal arts based college education in meeting these challenges. Within this context, the course asks students to read critically, conduct research, and present persuasive written and oral arguments about the purpose and role of a college education - particularly for working people and union members. This course is offered as part of union partnership programs and is open to non-partnership students subject to availability. It is also only offered in-class at the college’s Harry J. Van Arsdale Jr. School for Labor Studies in New York City.

Attributes: Social Science Gen Ed, Liberal

The objective of this course is to understand the origin, nature, and future of the U.S. labor movement through different theoretical lenses and comparative approaches. The course analyzes the role played by trade unions in American society and explores the historical and institutional factors that have shaped the U.S. labor movement. The course also introduces contemporary debates on the economic and political challenges facing American trade unions and the potential solutions to revive the labor movement. It is also only offered in-class at the college’s Harry J. Van Arsdale Jr. School for Labor Studies in New York City. Prerequisites: .

Attributes: Liberal

This course will offer a unique perspective on the history of the Modern Middle East. Most overviews of the region focus on a narrative of religious or cultural conflict, while leaving out or marginalizing processes of political and economic development, including the complex role played by labor and the working classes of the region. Here students will critically assess the political, economic and cultural history of the modern Middle East. And by placing labor at the center of that history, students will gain an appreciation for what connects their own experience as trade unionists and workers with that of the unionists and workers of the Middle East. This course is offered as part of union partnership programs and is open to non-partnership students subject to availability. It is also only offered in-class at the college’s Harry J. Van Arsdale Jr. School for Labor Studies in New York City.

Attributes: Other World Civilization Gn Ed, Liberal

The US has been suffering from a crisis of inequality for almost four decades and it affects all aspects of working people’s lives – the kinds of jobs we hold, how much we earn, how many hours we work, and even how our family’s function. All workers experience this economic reality in different ways; women, and especially women and men of color, face particular hurdles. While some workers have made tremendous economic strides most working people are still struggling. We need to have an accurate understanding of women’s economic and political realities, and how they interact with structures and ideologies of class and race, to envision the kind of society we want for our families and the policies needed to achieve this vision. With a focus on women in the building trades, this course will explore 1) the location of women (and men) in the economy, 2) the historical context of working women’s social movements, 3) the experiences of women in the building trades -- why they sought access and their impact on the trades, tradesmen and social policies, 3) the evolutionary role of construction unions in promoting diversity, equity and inclusion, and 4) the reforms and responses needed to address the economic and work-life needs of working women and all working people. The course will examine why work-life needs should not be viewed as individual and personal problems of workers – women, and men -- but folded into a wider economic context addressed by social policies.

Attributes: Social Science Gen Ed, *Diversity Gen Ed, Liberal

The course introduces students to examine American history through the struggles and victories of American workers. The American Revolution, the Civil War, the New Deal and the post-World War II era are the four key turning periods in history that will be examined. Working with primary documents, scholarly articles, and handouts, students explore the consequences and contested meaning of key episodes paying special attention to the role of working people in the development of the relative prosperity of the economy and the democratic inspiration of the country’s governing institutions.

Attributes: American History Gen Ed, Liberal

Participants in this class examine the ways that the working class has (and hasn’t) been portrayed in literary works. In particular, students read literary texts that illustrate and explore working-class characters and problems, such as the relationship of the working class to society at large. In addition to exposing students to conventions of a range of literary forms, the class also allows participants to analyze how the working-class has (and hasn’t) been portrayed in literature, and to assess how literature can contribute to the effort to build solidarity and to imagine a society that is better for workers. This course is only offered in-person at the college’s Harry J. Van Arsdale, Jr. School of Labor Studies in New York City.

Attributes: Humanities Gen Ed, *Humanities Gen Ed, Liberal

This course provides students with the opportunity to spend a semester working intensively on their writing and writing process. In it, each participant will produce a publishable piece of non-fiction writing about labor grounded in their own experience and in well-researched information. Our semester's work will consist of reading, writing, research and oral presentations that contribute to the drafting and revision of these individual projects, which will reflect critically not only on how work and the labor movements is understood in participants' own lives but also represented and understood in the course readings. While there is a fair amount of reading to be done in this class, this is primarily a course that supports and extends students abilities to express themselves in writing.

Attributes: Basic Communication Gen Ed, *Communication Gen Ed-Oral, *Communication Gen Ed-Written, Liberal

How do the mediums of TV and film frame workers? One goal is for these students to achieve a deeper and wider critical understanding of the history of the labor movement through film, and what some of the key figures in that movement and what other labor and worker rights activists are doing here in the US and around the world through this medium to both grow and maintain existing labor rights. The other chief goal would be to build a greater sense among the students as to their place in the ongoing union movement while gaining an understanding of the language of film and tools related to the medium that they can then put to use in creating their own media concerning the value of being in a union with their coworkers and colleagues-and possibly beyond. This course is offered as part of union partnership programs and is open to non-partnership students subject to availability. It is also only offered in-class through the college’s Harry J. Van Arsdale Jr. School for Labor Studies in New York City.

Attributes: Arts Gen Ed, *The Arts Gen Ed, Liberal

This course exposes students to scholarly accounts of the rise of industrialization, globally considered, and its impact on work, politics, and the environment, as they research and develop a perspective on current labor issues in non-Western cultures. This course is offered as part of union partnership programs and is open to non-partnership students subject to availability. It is also only offered in-class through the college’s Harry J. Van Arsdale Jr. School for Labor Studies in New York City.

Attributes: Other World Civilization Gn Ed, Humanities Gen Ed, *World Hist & Glb Awnss Gen Ed, Liberal

“Social Practice” art or socially engaged art, focuses more on the social and political relations that may be catalyzed by art--or a critical intervention that might be enacted--than on an art object itself. Much of contemporary practice involves the creation and presentation of the work that is often an ongoing collaboration or movement building with specific communities. After gaining a grounding in these practices particularly where they intersect with race, class and gender, the student will take up further study of this work in relation to labor perspectives --- towards the development of a social practice/social justice art proposal/endeavor within their own labor community. This course is offered as part of union partnership programs and is open to non-partnership students subject to availability. It is also only offered in-class through the college’s Harry J. Van Arsdale Jr. School for Labor Studies in New York City.

Attributes: Arts Gen Ed, *Diversity Gen Ed, *The Arts Gen Ed, Liberal

Students have the opportunity to develop individualized studies with their mentor in Labor (LABR). Please contact your mentor/advisor for more details.

Explore the origins, purposes, methods and future of the labor movement. Students will learn about the historical beginnings of the United States labor movement. Topics include the Knights of Labor and the American Federation of Labor, alternatives to business unionism, including industrial and craft unionism, Marxism, anarcho-syndicalism and the New Left. Students will also examine labor as a social reform movement within capitalism. Through discussion and written assignments, students will apply the theories to actual case studies of workplace and union development. This course is relevant to students interested in studying labor studies, labor relations and human resource management. Students pursuing degrees in business, history, policy studies, political science and philosophy will also find this course pertinent. Prerequisites: None Corequisites: None This course is offered online. This course was previously LAB-263154 The Labor Movement: Ideas and Institutions.

Attributes: Liberal

Students have the opportunity to develop individualized studies with their mentor in Labor (LABR). Please contact your mentor/advisor for more details.