POL 376 - Labor in America: Power and Politics in the Workplace

This seminar examines work as a site of political power. The course situates labor not only as an economic relationship but as a central domain of governance, inequality, and collective action in American politics. We will study the historical rise of labor movements and unions, the evolution of labor law, and the shifting balance of power between workers, employers, and the state. The seminar also considers contemporary transformations in work - including gig labor, subcontracting, automation, and fissured workplaces - and their implications for political voice and democratic citizenship. Key themes include class formation, racialized and gendered labor hierarchies, employer authority, regulatory capacity, and the politics of organizing. Readings draw from American political development, political economy, and empirical research on labor markets and workplace governance. Throughout, students will analyze how power operates inside firms and across institutional arenas, and how workplace politics shapes broader patterns of participation, representation, and inequality in American democracy.

Unit(s): 1
Group Distribution Requirement(s): Distribution Group II
Prerequisite(s): One introductory political science course (POL 220, POL 230, POL 240, POL 260, or POL 280)
Instructional Method: Conference
Grading Mode: Letter grading (A-F)
Not offered: 2026-27
Group Distribution Learning Outcome(s):

Evaluate data and/or sources.
Analyze institutions, formations, languages, structures, or processes, whether social, political, religious, economic, cultural, intellectual or other.
Think in sophisticated ways about causation, social and/or historical change, human cognition, or the relationship between individuals and society, or engage with social, political, religious or economic theory in other areas.