Class Race & Gender for Workers ((4 Credits))

Catalog description

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.