- American Labor History

Catalog description

A Bridge Experience course that explores the rich and complex history of work and workers in America from the pre-colonial era through the contemporary age. We will focus on a number of themes including the lasting legacies of slavery, the evolution of capitalism and its impact on working men and women, the emergence of worker consciousness and labor protest, racial and ethnic tensions that divided the shop floor and undermined working-class unity, and how workers have transformed American culture and politics. Ultimately, the course provides us with an opportunity to explore how contests over commercial and political power, worker struggles for economic and social justice, and competing identities played key roles in the tale of American labor history that continue to shape the contemporary United States.