* Please note: The following does not indicate I am teaching this class. This is not official information. Do not read this and think it is anything other than a DRAFT of a PLAN for a class. Contact me by phone with any questions or concern at 1-(774)-473-9663

Sociology of Work

  • Spring Semester 2011
  • Time/Credits: Th 12:40 PM – 3:30 PM // 3 credits // 60 students
  • Location: 310 Ernst Bessey Hall
  • Instructor: John Girdwood, MSA
  • Office: Home // Phone: 1-77-Girdwood (1-774-473-9663)
  • Email: girdwoo1@msu.edu // Office Hours: by appointment

* Please note: This syllabus was built from a pattern constructed by Dr. Zhenmei Zhang

Description:

  • This undergraduate seminar will introduce students to some of the key debates and topics regarding work and society.
  • Students will increase their ability to critically analyze scholarly contributions in this field.
  • The instructor hopes to inspire students’ own sociology-related research.
  • The course materials draw on a variety of perspectives including:
    • theoretical,
    • historical,
    • pragmatic, and
    • methodological perspectives.
  • Class periods are structured to examine topics such as work and gender, bureaucratic organization, diversity in the workplace, pressures and rewards, work and family issues (life roles), and inter-generational transfers.

Reading Material:

  • Volti, R. (2008). An introduction to the sociology of work and occupations. Pine Forge Press.
    • You don’t have to buy the book. We will use free content online at Google Books link [here]
  • Gornick, J. C., & Meyers, M. K. (2005). Families that work: policies for reconciling parenthood and employment. Russell Sage Foundation.
    • You don’t have to buy the book. We will use free content online at Google Books link [here]
  • Selected articles available on electronic journal sites like JSTOR and accessible through the MSU Library – http://er.lib.msu.edu/

2011-01-13 work and gender

  • Volti, R. (2008). An introduction to the sociology of work and occupations. Pine Forge Press.
    • Pages 145-154
    • Discussion questions pg. 154

2011-01-20 work and gender

This week, we will answer some of the questions posed to students who enroll in a Yale graduate level course called “Work and Gender.” The questions are listed on the website [link here]:

  • “Does the workplace reflect or rather actively reproduce gendered social relations and identities?”
  • “What is the relationship among wage work, citizenship, and gender?”
  • “How do structural features of organizations tend to reproduce sex segregation and gender harassment?”
  • “How should we understand the relationship between gender and sexuality at work?”
  • “The representation of gender and work in the popular media is also explored”

2011-01-27 bureaucratic organization

  • Hodson, R., & Roscigno, V. J. (2004). Organizational Success and Worker Dignity: Complementary or Contradictory? The American Journal of Sociology, 110(3), 672-708.
  • “Heightened competition has resulted in an intensified search for practices that enhance organizational success—success often defined in terms of heightened worker effort. This article suggests that the interplay between organizational and job?level practices determines the extent to which organizations can be successful and workers’ well?being can also be protected. These relations are analyzed with a unique data set on organizational practices, managerial behavior, and work?life experiences from 204 English?language organizational ethnographies. The analyses reveal configurations of practices associated with both positive and negative outcomes for organizations and workers. Configurations associated with organizational success include both positive organizational?level and positive job?level practices, such as employee involvement, competent management, and on?the?job training. The findings suggest that although the goals of organizational success and worker dignity are sometimes at odds, they can also be complementary” (Hodson & Roscigno, 2004)

2011-02-03 bureaucratic organization

  • Haveman, H. A., Rao, H., & Paruchuri, S. (2007). The Winds of Change: The Progressive Movement and the Bureaucratization of Thrift. American Sociological Review, 72(1), 117 -142. doi:10.1177/000312240707200106

2011-02-10 bureaucratic organization

  • Roscigno, V. J., & Hodson, R. (2004). The Organizational and Social Foundations of Worker Resistance. American Sociological Review, 69(1), 14 -39. doi:10.1177/000312240406900103

2011-02-17 diversity in the workplace

  • Volti, R. (2008). An introduction to the sociology of work and occupations. Pine Forge Press.
    • Pages 137-145

2011-02-24

diversity in the workplace

2011-03-03

diversity in the workplace

2011-03-10 pressures and rewards

  • Fave, L. R. D. (1974). Success Values: Are They Universal or Class-Differentiated? The American Journal of Sociology, 80(1), 153-169.

2011-03-17

pressures and rewards

2011-03-24

pressures and rewards

2011-03-31 work and family issues (life roles)

  • Gornick, J. C., & Meyers, M. K. (2005). Families that work: policies for reconciling parenthood and employment. Russell Sage Foundation.
    • Pages 1-23 (Introduction)

2011-04-07 work and family issues (life roles)

  • Gornick, J. C., & Meyers, M. K. (2005). Families that work: policies for reconciling parenthood and employment. Russell Sage Foundation.
    • Pages 147-150, 153-156 (Chapter 6)

2011-04-14 work and family issues (life roles)

2011-04-21 inter-generational transfers

  • Riggs, K. E. (2004). Granny @ work: aging and new technology on the job in America. Psychology Press.
  • Read all the pages available for free on the Google Books link [here]

2011-04-28 inter-generational transfers

  • Rask, R. L. (2008). Work Ethics and the Generation Gap!: Which Ethical Track Are You On? AuthorHouse.
  • Pages 45-51 available at the Google Books link [here]

2011-05

Final Due