Sociology 116, The Sociology of Work

UC Berkeley, Spring 2017

MWF, 277 Cory Hall
Joanna Reed, Ph.D., 479 Barrows Hall
joannareed@[Link]

Spring semester office hours: Monday, 12:15-1:15, Wed. 9:15-10:15 and by

appointment

Course Description:
This course is an introduction to the sociology of work that will explore
contemporary transformations in work and employment, and their impact on social
relations. The course will focus primarily on working conditions and jobs in the
United States, but will take account of how different types of work and workers are
connected worldwide. During the first few weeks, we will consider the cultural
meanings of work, theories about work and employment, and the history of the
organization of work. The second part of the course focuses on trends in the current
labor market—the types of jobs that are available, what those jobs are like and what
that means for the lives of workers who hold them. The central theme for this part
of the course is the polarization of the labor market into “good” and “bad” jobs. The
third and final part of the course centers on exploring and explaining another
dimension of labor market segmentation—how categorically distinct types of
workers are associated with specific types of jobs, focusing on nativity, race, and
gender and the processes that foster segmentation. We will conclude this section by
considering how the gendered and segmented nature of work affects family life.

Evaluation:

Take-Home Exam: Feb. 22. (20% of grade) This will be an essay exam. Questions
and instructions will be posted one week before the exam is due.

Response Paper (15% of grade): Please see the document called “Soc. 116 Paper
Assignments” on bCourses for the full prompt for this assignment, which will
involve applying material from class to current events. Submit to bCourses. Due
Mar. 10

“Job” Interview, Analysis and Reflection (20% of grade): Students will interview
a worker, and answer a series of questions based on the responses. An interview
guide will be provided. See “Soc. 116 Paper Assignments” for more details. Due Apr.
7

Term Paper: (25% of grade): For the term paper, students will research several
dimensions of a career or job of their choice, developing an argument about where it
fits into Kalleberg’s schemas of “good” and “bad” jobs and the context of labor
market polarization. Please see the document called “Soc. 116 Paper Assignments”
on BCourses for the full prompt. Due Apr. 28

Final Exam (20% of grade): The final exam will concentrate on material after the
first exam, but may incorporate material from the entire semester. I will supply a
review sheet to aid your studying during RRR week. The final exam is scheduled for
May 9th, from 7-10 pm.

Course Policies:
Grading: There will be a graduate student reader(s) for this course who will be
responsible for most of the grading. The process for grading is as follows: I develop
a rubric for the exams and papers and discuss it with the readers. We then grade
several papers/exams together to make sure the grading is consistent. We will try
to return exams and papers to you within two weeks. Readers may decide to hold
regular office hours, or will meet with students by appointment. If you have a
problem with a grade, you should first discuss it with the reader who assigned the
grade. If that does not resolve the problem, then I will discuss it with the reader
and meet with you. Please know that if we agree to re-evaluate your work, it will
be under closer scrutiny and your grade could possibly go down as a result. If you
ask us to consider raising your score, be prepared to make a specific argument as to
why you think you deserve more points, making sure to reference the rubric for the
assignment in question. We will use the gradebook function on BCourses to post
grades, but you should always check and make sure the grade on the hard-copy of
your assignment matches the one online.

Students are responsible for all material covered in lecture, including

announcements. You will be expected to integrate materials from lecture and
readings on exams and papers. Do not enroll in this class if you are unable to attend
the lectures regularly.

If you need accommodations for a disability or have a conflict due to the

observance of religious holidays, please speak with me early in the semester to
discuss appropriate arrangements.

Exams and assignments must be taken and turned in on time. If you have a
personal emergency, contact me at the earliest opportunity to discuss alternative
arrangements. Late assignments will be penalized one third of a letter grade for
each day they are late (including weekends). The final exam must be taken at the
scheduled time.

Academic honesty is expected of all students. While I encourage students to

discuss the readings and study together, everyone must do their own work.
Suspected violations relating to this course will be reported to the appropriate
administrative department and dealt with according to university policies. Be
aware of plagiarism. Word for word use of even a single sentence from another
author, publication or website without citation is plagiarism and is considered
unethical. Plagiarism will result in a failing grade on the paper or exam with no
opportunity to rewrite. If you have questions about how to properly cite materials,
or how to paraphrase appropriately, ask during office hours, and consult the writing
guide “Writing for Sociology”, available on the Soc. department website.

Email: Email should not be used for questions about class materials—these
questions should be asked in class or during office hours. I don’t check email more
than once per day, and cannot always respond right away, so talk to me before or
after class, or during office hours if you have an important issue.

Office Hours: I urge students to talk with me sometime during the semester, just to
say “hi” and especially if you are having trouble with the course. I can’t help you if
you don’t communicate with me! There is a sign up sheet outside my office door for
regular office hour appointments. You are free to drop by, but I’ll give priority to
people who have appointments. If you have another class or work during my
scheduled office hours, we can schedule another time to meet.

Laptops, etc.: I strongly encourage you to take notes on paper. Studies have
repeatedly shown that this promotes learning and retention of material over
typewritten notes. If you use a laptop or tablet for note taking please sit in the back
rows of the classroom so you don’t distract others.

Notes and Circulation of Course Materials: DO NOT reproduce course materials or

post them on-line or anywhere else. This includes the syllabus, lecture slides, your notes,
handouts, rubrics and exams. While you may share your notes with other students in this
semester’s class, it is against university policy to share your notes broadly, or attempt to
use them for commercial purposes. It is also a violation of the policy to record lectures
without my consent, and/or try to use recordings for commercial purposes. Please see
[Link] for a detailed version of
the policy.

Course Materials:
Books: There are two required books that can be purchased in the bookstore or via
online sources. They will also be on 2-hour reserve at Moffitt Library.

1. Kalleberg, A. (2011) Good Jobs, Bad Jobs. New York: Russell Sage Foundation

2. Zlolniski, C. (2006) Janitors, Street Vendors and Activists: The Lives of Mexican
Immigrants in Silicon Valley. Berkeley, CA: UC Press

Reader and articles:

I strongly recommend that you purchase a reader. The reader is like a textbook I
have specifically designed for this class. Purchase at the Copy Central store on
Bancroft St. A copy will also be on 2-hr. reserve at Moffitt library, and readings will
be posted on bCourses as well. Assigned articles will also be available on bCourses.

I. HISTORICAL and THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS

Week 1: Jan. 18 & 20

Introduction

Readings: Sweet, S. & Meiksins, P. (2013) Changing Contours of Work: Jobs and
Opportunities in the New Economy. Los Angeles: Sage. Ch. 1 “Mapping the Contours
of Work” (Reader)

Week 2: Jan. 23, 25, 27

Theoretical perspectives on work

Readings: Marx, K. “Alienated Labor”, Weber, M. “Bureaucracy”, Taylor, F.

“Fundamentals of Scientific Management”, Braverman, H. “The Division of Labor”,
Hochschild, A. “The Managed Heart”. Pp. 44-78 in Wharton, A. (2006) Working in
America, Continuity, Conflict and Change, 3rd edition. (Reader)

Week 3: Jan. 30, Feb. 1, 3

Historical foundations and current conditions

Readings: Fischer, C. & Hout, M. (2006) Ch. 5 “How Americans Worked: New
Workers, New Jobs and New Differences”. Century of Difference: How America
Changed in the Last One Hundred Years. New York: Russell Sage Foundation (Reader)

Kalleberg, A. (2011). Ch. 1 “Job Quality in the United States”, Ch. 2 “Economic
Transformation and the Decline of Insitutional Protection” {READ} & 3 “New
Workers, New Differences” {SKIM}. Good Jobs, Bad Jobs. New York: Russell Sage
Foundation

II. ON THE JOB IN TODAY’S LABOR MARKET

Week 4: Feb. 5, 8, 10
Good and bad jobs

Readings: Kalleberg, A. (2011) Ch. 4 “Dimensions of Polarity”, Ch. 5 “Precarious

Employment Relations”
Skim, and read conclusions for following chapters of Kalleberg: Ch. 6-9

Week 5: Feb. 13, 15, 17

The role of organized labor
Readings: Voss, K. & Fantasia, R. (2004). Hard Work: Remaking the American Labor
Movement. Berkeley, CA: UC Press. Ch. 4 “Practices and Possibilities of a Social
Movement Unionism” (Reader)

Kalleberg, A. (2011) Ch. 11 “Implementing the New Social Contract”. Good Jobs, Bad
Jobs. New York: Russell Sage Foundation

Week 6: Feb. 22, 24

Organized labor/Good/bad jobs and workers’ lives
Take Home Exam due Feb. 22 at 12 pm. (No lecture)

Readings: Conley, D. (2009) Elsewhere, USA. New York: Vintage. Preface, through Ch.
4, pp. ix-67 (Reader)

Week 7: Feb. 27, Mar. 1, 3

Good/bad jobs and workers’ lives
Readings: Shulman, B. (2003) The Betrayal of Work. New York: The New Press.
Introduction- Ch. 3, pp., 1-68 (Reader)

Part III: SEGMENTATION PROCESSES

Week 8: Mar. 6, 8, 10
Getting a Job

Response Paper Due Mar. 10, 11 am

Readings: Smith, S. (2005) “’Don’t Put My Name On It’: Social Capital Activation and
Job-Finding Assistance Among the Black Urban Poor”. American Journal of Sociology,
111(1):1-57

DiTomaso, N. (2013) The American Non-Dilemma: Racial Inequality Without Racism.

New York: Russell Sage Foundation. Ch. 2, 3
Electronic Resource—access through Oski-Cat on UCB Library Website

Week 9: Mar. 13, 15, 17

Industry transformation, ethnic segmentation and a changing workforce

Ribas, V. (2016) On The Line: Slaughterhouse Lives and the Making of the New South.
Oakland, CA: University of California Press. Ch. 2 (Reader)

Week 10: Mar. 20, 22, 24

Segmentation Case Study: Immigration, globalization, ethnicity and nativity on
the job
Readings: Zlolniski, C. (2006) Janitors, Street Vendors, and Activists: The Lives of
Mexican Immigrants in Silicon Valley. Berkeley, CA: UC Press. Ch. 1, 2 & 3

SPRING BREAK

Week 11: Apr. 3, 5, 7

Segmentation Case Study

Readings: Zlolniski, C. (2006) Janitors, Street Vendors, and Activists: The Lives of
Mexican Immigrants in Silicon Valley. Berkeley, CA: UC Press. Ch. 4 and Conclusion &
Epilogue, p. 173- 209

Interview Assignment Due Apr. 7, 11 am

Week 12: Apr. 10, 12, 14

Segmentation by gender

Readings: Reskin, B & Padavic, I. (2002) Women and Men at Work. Thousand Oaks,
CA: Pine Forge Press. Ch. 4, 5 and 7 (Reader)

Week 13: Apr. 17, 19, 21

Live to work or work to live? Time spent at work

Readings: Jacobs, J. & Gerson, K. (2004) The Time Divide: Work, Family and Gender
Inequality. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Ch. 4 & 5 pp. 80-115 (Reader)

Sweet, S. & Meiksins, P. (2013) Changing Contours of Work: Jobs and Opportunities
in the New Economy. Los Angeles: Sage Ch. 5 “A Fair Day’s Work?” (Reader)

Week 14: April 24, 26, 28

Work and Families

Readings: Cherlin, A. (2014) Labor’s Love Lost: The Rise and Fall of the Working
Class Family in America. Selection from Ch. 5, “The Fall of the Working-Class
Family”, pp. 134-147 (Reader)

Blair-Loy, M. (2003) Competing Devotions: Career and Family Among Women

Executives. Ch. 1, 2 and 5 (Reader)

Term Paper Due Apr. 28, 11 am.

Week 15: May 1-5, RRR week.

Final Exam May 9, 7-10 pm, room TBA