Module Directory

Work matters. It is important for individual well-being and identity. This module takes a global perspective to explore the nature of work, defined in its broadest sense to encompass all labour, whether conducted formally or informally, as paid employment, domestic labour, or voluntary work. It draws on a radical re-thinking of traditional understandings of work, disrupting the conventional dichotomies of work/leisure, public/private, "home"/"work", and production/reproduction.

The module focuses on the ways work and home are organised differently across the globe. It aims to explore the gendered processes operating in work; examine the varieties of gender division, with regard to work, in different societies, their creation and effects; and investigate the intersection of gender at work with class, ethnicity and other social divisions. It considers how work contributes to the construction of femininities and masculinities.

The aims of this module are:

• To provide students with knowledge of this specialist area of sociological concern.


• To familiarise students with contemporary debates about gender and work.


• To promote cross-cultural understanding of work and life experiences.


• To enhance skills of critical analysis leading to independent research.

By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:

1. Theorise the temporal and spatial (re-)organisation of work in late modernity, examining the relationship between global and local divisions of labour, and the division of labour between family members.


2. Consider the key themes around global differences in the relationship between home and work: domestic work; home work; community and voluntary work; sex work and prostitution; the manifestation of global class inequalities through regimes of production and consumption; the relationship between political change and gender inequalities outcomes.


3. Draw on case studies from south Asia, Latin America and post-communist societies.

This module begins with theorising the temporal and spatial (re-)organisation of work in late modernity, examining the relationship between global and local divisions of labour, and the division of labour between family members.

It goes on to consider key themes around global differences in the relationship between home and work: domestic work; home work; community and voluntary work; sex work and prostitution; the manifestation of global class inequalities through regimes of production and consumption; the relationship between political change and gender inequalities outcomes.

In exploring these areas, we will draw on case studies from south Asia, Latin America and post-communist societies, though there is scope for students' own interests to be reflected in the programme of work.

Syllabus

• Introduction: What do we mean by 'work'? Global and Local work. 


• Factory Production and the Production of Gender.


• Work and Identity.


• Masculinities, Femininities, Sexualities and Inequalities at Work.


• Work and Labour Movements.


• Reading Week - Conduct library research pertaining to your chosen essay topic. Produce an annotated bibliography (full citation with a short description of the main points) of 8 relevant references.


• Domestic Service.


• Body Service Work: Working on Bodies.


• Sex Work .


• Food Work.

This module will be delivered via:

• One 2-hour seminar each week.

Attendance in person is expected.