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Academic Year 2004/2005
U.S. Labor History
HIST 266 SP
How has the nature of work, the labor force, and employer and government policies regarding labor evolved over the course of U.S. history? What was the impact of slavery on free labor in the United States before the
Civil
War, and what were its after-effects? What factors distinguish labor-capital relations in the United States from those in other highly industrialized nations? Why were the socialist and communist movements weaker in the
U.S.
than in Germany, England, France, Italy, or Canada? How has religion influenced American labor history? Why were American trade unionists so leery of the state for decades and when and why did their attitudes toward the
federal
government change? How do Americans conceive of the concept of ¿class¿? Is there (or has there even been) a ¿working class¿ in the United States? How have intellectuals viewed workers and unions in American history?
These
will be the principle questions addressed in this survey.
MAJOR READINGS
Selig Perlman, THE THEORY OF THE LABOR MOVEMENT (1929)
Eugene Genovese, ROLL, JORDAN, ROLL: THE WORLD THE SLAVES MADE (1974)
David Montgomery, WORKERS¿ CONTROL IN AMERICA (1979)
Herbert Gutman, WORK, CULTURE AND
SOCIETY IN INDUSTRIALIZING
AMERICA (1977)
Nelson Lichtenstein. STAE OF THE UNION: A CENTURY OF AMERICAN LABOR (2002)
David Brody, IN LABOR¿S CAUSES: MAIN THEMES IN THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN LABOR (1993)
Lizabeth Cohen, MAKING A NEW DEAL:
INDUSTRIAL WORKERS IN CHICAGO, 1919-1
939 (1990)
Nick Salvatore, EUGENE V. DEBS: CITIZEN AND SOCIALIST (1982)
Alice Kessler-Harris, IN PURSUIT OF EQUITY: WOMEN, MEN, AND THE QUEST FOR ECONOMIC CITIZENSHIP IN 20TH CENTURY AMERICA (2001)
Jefferson
Cowie, CAPITAL MOVES: RCA¿S 70-YEAR QU
EST FOR CHEAP LABOR
(1999)
EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS
Frequent response papers, an in-class exam, and one research essay (12-15pp).
COURSE FORMAT:
Lecture/Discussion
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Level:
UGRD
Credit:
1
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS HIST
Grading Mode:
Graded
Prerequisites:
NONE
SECTION 01
- Instructor(s): Schatz,Ronald W.
- Times: .M.W... 01:10PM-02:30PM; Location: PAC422;
- Reserved Seats: (Total Limit: 35)
- SR. major: 4 Jr. major: 8
- SR. non-major: 3 Jr. non-major: 4 SO: 10 FR: 6
Special Attributes:
- Curricular Renewal: Writing
Links to Web Resources For This Course.
Last Updated on MAR-21-2005
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Copyright Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459