Office: Turlington Hall (TUR) 4108 Office Hours: W, Per. 6 (12:50-1:40 pm), and by appointment COURSE DESCRIPTION Last year, workers in the American fast food industry organized across the United States to demand an increase in the federal minimum wage. This lead to an extended national conversation about whether these employees deserved an increase in wages, based on the kind of work they do. To engage with this (and similar) discussions, in this course we will explore how "work" is defined,

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... d valued, in the U.S. This course can satisfy the UF General Education requirement for Composition or Humanities. For more information, see: https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/advising/info/general-education-program.aspx. This course can also provide 6000 words toward fulfillment of the UF requirement for writing. For more information, see: https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/advising/info/writing-requirement.aspx. COURSE OBJECTIVES/GOALS The main goal of this course is to identify the kinds of labor, occupations, and activities in the U.S. that have traditionally been considered work, as well as contemplating how work continues to be redefined. In order to do this, we will keep in mind that constructions of class, race, gender, etc., also shape society's sense of what work looks like. As a secondary objective, we will review the history of the American Labor Movement and how it has led to significant changes in national and state laws to protect workers' rights. Finally, we will also consider the local relevance of our course by looking at movements like the Alachua Labor Commission's Living Wage Campaign. Our course readings will include literary works, news articles, and critical texts. Through various writing assignments featuring their critical insights and original arguments, students will explore how work has been defined, and might further be defined, in the U.S. These assignments, which serve to satisfy the University Writing Requirement, include reading responses, two reports, a midterm paper, and a final research paper with an annotated bibliography. By the end of this course, students are expected to have a greater understanding of past, present, and future issues surrounding work. In addition, students will gain experience analyzing various kinds of texts and forming original arguments that allow them to explore their interests and contribute towards existing scholarship. In order to form these arguments, students will leave the class familiar with the MLA citation style, which will allow them to properly incorporate primary and secondary texts in their own writing.