Contrary to many expectations, work continues to dominate much of our lives and this course offers students a sociological understanding of work and employment. Starting with an elaboration of the major themes about work in classical sociology, the course moves on to look at how technology, organisation and industrial change all impact on the way we work. We also consider how work influences our social identities and our collective behaviour through labour movements. We conclude the course by a detailed exploration of employment trends in advanced democracies - where jobs are being created and lost, how the new service economy is reshaping cities, and inequalities in the labour market. Students will also investigate and debate innovative policies for dealing with the ongoing problems of employment in Australia and elsewhere.

Two research tasks of 1,000 words (30%), tutorial performance (10%) and one longer essay of 2,500 words (60%).

Twenty two one-hour lectures and ten one-hour tutorials. Lectures will be taped.

Any two first-year courses.