“Cause we’re the workers, dammit! And we take care of each other”: A Solidarity Syllabus

presentation

Sprache: Englisch

In person or online: onlineDuration: 15 minutesLanguage: EnglishShort Description (300–500 words; may be shorter if all necessary information is included)I would like to present a paper about the pedagogy of working-class solidarity based in part on my experiences in teaching a labor-studies-themed version of second-semester English Composition (ENGL 10500) in recent years. One of my aims in the course, in addition to giving a more general introduction to writing, research, and critical thought, is to draw on what I see as a latent but potentially powerful working-class identity among my students, who are almost literally all working too hard outside of the classroom. My impression at the beginning of the semester is that they see these low-wage jobs, by and large, as temporary annoyances to be borne while they train for work at better wages that will give them access to a middle-class lifestyle, and hence do not invest in relationships with fellow workers. My course implicitly poses the question: Why not revalue who we are and what we are doing rightnow? Rather than seeing these work commitments as mere drudgery to be endured (from their position) or competition for their attention (from mine), I make work a focus of research, writing, and critical thinking via a three-part writing project: a workplace autoethnography. I want to awaken in them a sense of solidarity with other workers — including one another. The results so far have been positive, in spite of serious headwinds.