HIST 306: History of Union Organizing

This course prepares students for work as labor and community organizing through a combined practice of historical case studies and hands on fieldwork. Each course meeting examines a dispute over work, ranging from political mobilization among enslaved people in the 18th century to resistance movements among factory workers in the 19th century to contemporary activism among undocumented workers in the food service and technology industries. Students will apply this knowledge to their own grassroots labor organizing project that will be carried out throughout the semester. Every student will come out of the class with grassroots labor organizing skills and a thorough, interdisciplinary knowledge of the history of workplace mobilization.