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The majority of existing union members are women and workers of color, and, since the mid-1980s, the majority of newly organized workers have been women of color, particularly Black women and recent immigrants from Latin America. Yet, with the exception of just a handful of unions, the labor movement still has been slow to build on this support and enthusiasm. This course will focus on the challenges and possibilities created by the changing demographics of race and gender in the contemporary labor movement. Through a combination of readings, small group discussions, guest speakers, and library and on line research, short essays and one longer research paper; the course will examine these issues from an historical, demographic, labor relations, and sociological perspective.

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This course will study multiple aspects of colleges and universities. We will examine the public mission of higher education institutions and the way this has been altered by privatization and “corporatization” trends that encourage colleges and universities to function as market actors. Other topics to be explored include the changing structure of labor in the university, with the expansion of the administration, the reduction of tenure-track/tenured faculty lines, and the growth of contingent faculty and graduate student employment in teaching and research. The course will examine the impact of such trends and changes on faculty and student rights, including academic freedom, freedom of speech, due process, shared governance, and rights to unionize and collectively bargain.

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The purpose of this course is to provide students with space to prepare an academic article of publishable or fundable quality. Each student will work on a project related to her/his research, and you must begin the semester with an outline or draft of a qualifying paper, dissertation chapter, manuscript or funding proposal that you want to develop. Each week will discuss a group of readings focused on the craft of social science writing and go over assigned writing exercises. Key issues we will discuss include: refining research questions, constructing relevant literature reviews, how to leverage empirical evidence to advance your argument effectively, journal selection, responding to reviewers concerns, seeking external funding, and practical tips for writing productivity. You will also be responsible for doing a close reading of a peer’s draft, and facilitating a workshop discussion. Everyone will get a chance to put their writing under the microscope at least once. While the course is geared towards PhD students engaged in academic research and publication, Masters-levels students are also invited to join.

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While the Brown decision seemed to end de jure segregation in America, a series of court cases and continuing housing, lending and other nationwide policies interfered with our Nation’s ability to end de facto segregation. This course will critically examine US and state Supreme Court decisions and civil rights commentary to try and understand what happened after the historic 1954 Brown decision in order to understand why many observers believe we are still more than less a segregated society.

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Pre-requisites: The course will be offered over four consecutive evenings. It will be open to both ILR and non-ILR students at the upper division and graduate level who have a sufficient background in the social sciences. Enrollment open to ILR and non-ILR juniors, seniors, and graduate students. Limited to 30 students. The proposed course will introduce students to the theory of collaborative or interest-based conflict resolution and will describe recent efforts to use these techniques to resolve important public policy issues. The course will be based substantially, but not exclusively, on the work of the Convergence Center for Policy Resolution, a national non-profit organization based in Washington, DC, which has been applying collaborative problem solving to issues of importance at the national policy level for several years. Three cases of collaborative decision making will be examined in detail: health care coverage and the Affordable Care Act; nutrition and wellness; and education reform. Robert Fersh, ILR B.S. ¿72, J.D. Boston University ¿75, the president of Convergence, and Richard Korn, ILR B.S. ¿71 and Ph.D. ¿79, the chairman of the board of trustees of Convergence, will serve as co-instructors in the course.