CONN 169 | "Take this Job and Shove it!": Sociology of Work through Music, Comedy, and Pop Culture

Work is an activity that consumes much of our existence. Whether we love it, hate it, avoid it, struggle through it, tell others how to do it, or worry when we don't have it, most of us will center some form of work in our lives. Work is a site for observing social power: Class, race, gender, ethnicity, disability, age, and other social dynamics intersect and condition people's life chances beyond the workplace. It is also the focus of a great deal of music, comedy, theater, film, and art. We sing about it to cope, we write about it to make people laugh, cry, or rage, and we depict it in ways that range from fantasy to realism across artistic styles. This course will explore themes in the sociology of work by focusing on music, comedy, and other sources of popular culture concerning work and social relations. We will also draw on multiple disciplines in the liberal arts to help us understand the significance of work to human beings. Throughout, we will work collaboratively to identify music, comedy, and sources of popular culture that exemplify sociological concerns, and produce student-directed projects ranging from podcasts, and performances, to academic reviews.