Labour Studies Courses

LABR 1F90
Changing Nature of Work and of Labour Relations
Critical issues facing Canadian workers. Basis for conflict; key issues such as the impact of economic restructuring and technological change for working people; occupational health and safety; pay and employment equity; occupational segregation by gender; changing work patterns; and union action. May include international comparisons.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.

LABR 2P02
Economic Geography
(also offered as GEOG 2P02)
Growth of the world economy since 1500 AD and how this shapes the location of manufacturing, agriculture and services today. Contemporary impact of global economic forces and their roots in the growth of worldwide trading networks, colonialism, the Industrial Revolution, the Fordist crisis and transition to post-Fordism.
Lectures, tutorial, 4 hours per week.
Restriction: open to LABR, GEOG (single or combined) and GEOG (Honours)/BEd (Intermediate/Senior) majors until date specified in Registration guide.
Prerequisite(s): LABR 1F90, GEOG 1F90 or permission of the instructor.

LABR 2P03
Labour Law and Labour Unions
(also offered as POLI 2P03)
Labour law and public policy relating to work and organized labour in provincial and federal jurisdictions; institutions in the labour market such as the Labour Relations Board; the structure and functioning of organized labour in Canada; labour law and union organization in other countries.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): LABR 1F90, one POLI credit numbered 1(alpha)90 to 1(alpha)99 or permission of the instructor.

LABR 2P06
Collective Bargaining
Bargaining simulation played by students assuming the role of union and management negotiators. Topics may also include a survey of the nature, determinants, and impact of collective bargaining in Canada; the procedural and substantive aspects of collective bargaining; grievance arbitration; and other dispute settlement procedures.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): LABR 1F90 or permission of the instructor.

LABR 2P09
Labour Relations in Professional Sports
(also offered as SPMA 2P09)
Economic, political and social impacts of labour relations in professional sports. Topics may include free agency, collective bargaining, strikes and lockouts, and the role of players' associations.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): LABR 1F90, SPMA 1P91 or permission of the instructor.

LABR 2P15
The Economics of Unions
(also offered as ECON 2P15)
Labour unions in the marketplace. How unions affect, and are affected by, the labour and product markets. Topics include the effects of unions on wages, fringe benefits, turnover, inequality, productivity and the profitability of firms; union behaviour; who belongs to unions and why; collective bargaining; strikes; interest arbitration; public-sector unionism.
Lectures, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): ECON 1P91 and 1P92.

LABR 2P32
In and Out of Work in the Global Economy
(also offered as SOCI 2P32)
Examination of paid and unpaid work in industrialized and industrializing countries. Topics may include patterns of un/under employment, peripheral employment, home-working, worker resistance.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to LABR, SOCI (single or combined) majors and minors until date specified in Registration guide.
Prerequisite(s): LABR 1F90 or SOCI 1F90.

LABR 2P34
Comparative Labour Movements
(also offered as POLI 2P34 and SOCI 2P34)
Comparative approach to contemporary union controversies and issues. Includes economic, political and sociological perspectives within an international comparative framework.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): one of LABR 1F90, POLI 1F90, SOCI 1F90.

LABR 2P54
Canadian Economic Issues
(also offered as ECON 2P54)
Canadian economic and business problems and policies. Topics may include stabilization, competition, taxation, foreign trade and exchange rate policies.
Lectures, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): ECON 1P91 and 1P92.

LABR 2P71
Social Class and Social Conflict
(also offered as SOCI 2P71)
Classical and contemporary approaches to the study of social class. Topics may include class relations and class conflict, elites, social mobility, poverty and social marginalization, the Canadian class structure in comparison to other industrialized nations.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to LABR, SOCI (single or combined) majors, LABR, CRMR and SOCI minors until date specified in Registration guide.
Prerequisite(s): LABR 1F90 or SOCI 1F90.

LABR 2P73
Globalization, Inequality and the New World Disorders
(also offered as SOCI 2P73)
Global spread of capitalism, historical origins and perpetuation of underdevelopment, the destruction of traditional societies and environmental impact. Socio-economic structures and political institutions of selected Third World countries and their relationships to metropolitan, industrialized power centers.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to LABR, SOCI (single or combined) majors and minors until dated specified in Registration guide.
Prerequisite(s): LABR 1F90 or SOCI 1F90.

LABR 2P80
Labour, Environment and Consumption
(also offered as SOCI 2P80)
Topics may include global comparative consumption patterns and the relationship between labour and environmental interests.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): LABR 1F90 or SOCI 1F90.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade and credit obtained in LABR (SOCI) 2V80.

LABR 2P86
Women in the Economy
(also offered as CANA 2P86, ECON 2P86, SOCI 2P86 and WISE 2P86)
Women in the Canadian labour market. Topics include allocation of time between the household and labour market, gender segregation in the work place, how earnings are determined, causes of occupational and earnings difference by gender, role of investment in education and discrimination, recent developments in the labour market and their impact on women and men, and selected policy issues.
Lectures, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: students must have a minimum of 4.0 overall credits.

LABR 2P96
Women and Development
(also offered as INTC 2P96, SOCI 2P96 and WISE 2P96)
Examination of the major social consequences of the theoretical paradigms of development (economic development, sustainable development and women/gender in development): theoretical material, practical knowledge and debates on diverse experiences of women living in the non-industrial world using feminist perspectives.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): one of LABR 1F90, INTC (INTL) 1F90, WISE 1F90 or permission of the instructor.

LABR 2P98
Work in an Information Age
The growth of information and communications technologies in paid and unpaid work in advanced industrial societies. Topics may include changing employment patterns; high-tech enclaves such as Silicon Valley, Kanata and Mondragon; skill training and changes to the gendered nature of work in high technology industries and organizations.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): one of LABR 1F90, ECON 1P91 and 1P92, one POLI credit numbered 1(alpha)90 to 1(alpha)99, SOCI 1F90.

LABR 2P99
Introduction to Canadian Public Policy
(also offered as POLI 2P99)
Major theories, approaches and concepts including the nature of public policy studies, contending theories of the state and public policy making, the growth of the state and the expansion of the scope of public policy activities, and alternative modes of state intervention.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): LABR 1F90, one POLI credit numbered 1(alpha)90 to 1(alpha)99 or permission of the instructor.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade and credit obtained in POLI 3P65.

LABR 2Q98
Introduction to Canadian Public Administration
(also offered as COMM 2Q98 and POLI 2Q98)
Political, legal and managerial dimensions of public administration. Topics include the structure and management of public organizations; government reform; political-bureaucratic relations; human resources and budgetary processes; ethics and accountability.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): one of LABR 1F90, COMM 1F90, one POLI credit numbered 1(alpha)90 to 1(alpha)99 or permission of the instructor.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade and credit obtained in POLI 2F98 or 3P50.

LABR 2V80-2V89
Selected Topics in Labour Studies

LABR 3F98
Tutorial in Labour Studies
Guided readings on a topic not covered in the program's regular course offerings.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: permission of the Director.
Note: topics must be chosen in consultation with a faculty member willing to supervise the tutorial.

LABR 3P03
Global Labour Issues
(also offered as POLI 3P03)
Shaping of people's changing experience of work by global economic and political change. Topics may include globalization, de-industrialization, class conflict and the relationship between work and the environment.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: students must have a minimum of 8.0 overall credits.
Prerequisite(s): LABR 1F90, one POLI credit numbered 1(alpha)90 to 1(alpha)99 or permission of the instructor.

LABR 3P06
Class and Culture
(also offered as PCUL 3P06)
Labour issues as portrayed in cultural formats such as media, film, fiction and art. Topics may include the labour movement, its role in society, and its portrayal in popular culture.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to students with a minimum 8.0 overall credits.
Prerequisite(s): one of LABR 1F90, PCUL 2P20, 2P30 or permission of the instructor.

LABR 3P13
The Politics of Labour
(also offered as POLI 3P13)
Relations between the labour movement and the state, with particular reference to Canada, including tripartism, corporatism, incomes policy, organized labour and political parties, industrial democracy and worker participation.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): one POLI credit numbered 1(alpha)90 to 1(alpha)99 or permission of the instructor.

LABR 3P24
Labour Economics
(also offered as ECON 3P24)
Economics of the labour market. Topics include the demand for labour, the supply of labour and investment in human capital. Policy applications.
Lectures, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): ECON 2P21 or 2P23.

LABR 3P25
Topics in Labour Economics
(also offered as ECON 3P25)
Topics vary from year to year and may include unemployment and the impact of unemployment insurance in the labour market, discrimination in the labour market, labour migration and the economic impact of immigration, economics of the family, the distribution of income and wealth in Canada, the economic impact of unions on wages and non-wage outcomes, issues in retirement and pensions.
Lectures, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): ECON 2P21 or 2P23.

LABR 3P30
Women, Work and Family
(also offered as SOCI 3P30 and WISE 3P30)
Examination of the transformation of women's paid labour force involvement and evaluation of personal and public strategies to address the work/family conflict.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to LABR, SOCI (single or combined), WISE (single or combined) majors and minors until date specified in Registration guide.
Prerequisite(s): one of LABR 1F90, SOCI 1F90, WISE 1F90, 2P20.
Note: SOCI 2P32 recommended.

LABR 3P31
Complex Organizations
(also offered as SOCI 3P31)
Research on the nature of complex organizations using theories such as those of the French Regulation School. Formal and informal aspects of the organizational roles; how morale, motivation, work discipline and conflict are regulated; feminist critiques of the traditional literature.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): LABR 1F90 or SOCI 1F90.

LABR 3P33
The State and Economic Life
(also offered as POLI 3P33)
Ideological perspectives on the state-economy relationship; policy instruments including taxation, regulation and public ownership; alternative models of economic policy including socialism, Keynesianism and neo-liberalism.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): one POLI credit numbered 1(alpha)90 to 1(alpha)99 or permission of the instructor.

LABR 3P34
Information Technology and Work
(also offered as SOCI 3P34)
Application of information technology to the labour process. Topics include the relationship of this technology to the number and types of jobs available, to the total hours worked over a lifetime and to the increased importance given to education and work.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to LABR, SOCI (single or combined) majors and minors until date specified in Registration guide.
Prerequisite(s): LABR 1F90 or SOCI 1F90.

LABR 3P35
Communities in Crisis
(also offered as SOCI 3P35)
Focus on poverty, unemployment, personal upheaval and family relocation in the early 21 century and, within this context, the evolving individual and collective strategies to create vibrant communities.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to LABR and SOCI (single or combined) majors until date specified in Registration guide.
Prerequisite(s): LABR 1F90 or SOCI 1F90.

LABR 3P48
Wealth, Work, and Power in the United States
(also offered as HIST 3P48)
Business, labour and the state in U.S. history, including the evolution of capitalism from home manufacture to mass production to the service sector, the rise of the modern corporation, the changing nature of work, sexual and racial divisions of labor, public policy, class conflict, welfare capitalism, the Great Depression and New Deal, business and war, deindustrialization, globalization and "free trade."
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to LABR, HIST (single or combined), HIST (Honours)/BEd (Intermediate/Senior) majors and minors until date specified in Registration guide.
Prerequisite(s): one HIST credit numbered 1(alpha)90 to 1(alpha)99 and one HIST credit numbered 2(alpha)00 to 2(alpha)99 or permission of the instructor.
Note: HIST 2P16 recommended.

LABR 3P66
Social Movements
(also offered as SOCI 3P66)
Survey of the impact of ideology on behaviour and the subsequent development of social movements or examinations of particular movements such as separatism, nationalism, fascism, Marxism or feminism.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to LABR, SOCI (single or combined) majors and minors until date specified in Registration guide.
Prerequisite(s): LABR 1F90 or SOCI 1F90 or permission of the Department Administrator.

LABR 3P67
Issues in Canadian Public Policy
(also offered as POLI 3P67)
Theories of policy development and their application to several different policy fields.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to Public Administration Co-op majors until date specified in Registration guide.
Prerequisite(s): LABR 2P99 or permission of the instructor.
Note: specific fields will change from year to year.

LABR 3P75
Canadian Labour History
(also offered as HIST 3P75)
Canadian workers and the labour movement from the mid-19th century to the present, combining studies of trade unions with the broader context of the social, community and political life of workers. How gender and race/ethnicity have shaped the working class experience.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to LABR, HIST (single or combined), HIST (Honours)/BEd (Intermediate/Senior) majors and minors until date specified in Registration guide.
Prerequisite(s): one HIST credit numbered 1(alpha)90 to 1(alpha)99 and one HIST credit numbered 2(alpha)00 to 2(alpha)99 or permission of the instructor.
Note: HIST 2P62 recommended.

LABR 3P93
Niagara's Changing Economic Geography
(also offered as GEOG 3P93)
Changes in Niagara's industries and occupations; international trade and specialization; circular and cumulative causation; agglomeration and the contemporary world economy; regional growth machines; economic restructuring and income inequality; deindustrialization; agricultural decline; tourism; structural unemployment; brain drain and transition to cognitive-cultural economy.
Lectures, seminar, 4 hours per week.
Restriction: open to GEOG (single or combined) and GEOG (Honours)/BEd (Intermediate/Senior) majors until date specified in Registration guide.
Prerequisite(s): GEOG 2P02, 2P03, or permission of the instructor.
Note: GEOG 2P12, MATH 1P98, SOCI 2P13 or equivalent is recommended.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade and credit obtained in GEOG 3P47.

LABR 3P98
Directed Studies I
Guided readings on a topic not covered in the program's regular course offerings.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: permission of the instructor.
Prerequisite(s): LABR 1F90.
Note: topics must be chosen in consultation with a faculty member willing to supervise.

LABR 3P99
Directed Studies II
Guided readings on a topic not covered in the program's regular course offerings.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: permission of the instructor.
Prerequisite(s): LABR 1F90.
Note: topics must be chosen in consultation with a faculty member willing to supervise.

LABR 3Q95
Sex Work and Sex Workers
(also offered as POLI 3Q95, SOCI 3Q95 and WISE 3Q95)
Examination of sex work, various theoretical perspectives on sex work and their social policy implications for sex workers. Topics may include prostitution, pornography, the political economy of sex work and sex worker union organizing.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): one of LABR 1F90, POLI 1F90, SOCI 1F90, WISE 1F90.

LABR 3V90-3V94
Special Topics in Labour Studies
Special topics courses not offered on a regular basis.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): LABR 1F90 or permission of the instructor.

LABR 4F30
Work and Restructuring
(also offered as SOCI 4F30)
Select issues related to the organization of work, social class, the workforce and unions.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to LABR, SOCI (single and combined) and WISE (single or combined) majors until date specified in Registration guide. Students must have approval to year 4 (honours).
Prerequisite(s): one of LABR 2P32, 2P86, 3P30.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade and credit obtained in LABR (SOCI/WISE) 4P32.

LABR 4F90
Honours Thesis
Independent research project under the supervision of a faculty advisor.
Restriction: open to LABR majors with approval to year 4 (honours).
Prerequisite(s): LABR 3P03 and 3P06 (3F00).
Corequisite(s): LABR 4F92 (4P91).
Note: applicants to the thesis or practicum option are required to submit a detailed (one page minimum) letter of intent by March 31 of the preceding year.

LABR 4F91
Honours Practicum
Service as research associates with a local organization or trade union. Projects will vary with the needs of the organization/trade union.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to LABR majors with a minimum of 14.0 overall credits and a minimum 70 percent major average.
Corequisite(s): LABR 4F92 (4P91).
Note: applicants to the thesis or practicum option are required to submit a detailed (one page minimum) letter of intent by March 31 of the preceding year. The faculty facilitator, organization/trade union supervisor and student will negotiate a mutually satisfactory project and work schedule.

LABR 4F92
Honours Seminar
Facilitation of individual thesis proposals including the development of the research question, review of the relevant literature and the integration of theoretical perspectives with the appropriate methodological applications.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): LABR 3P03 and 3P06 (3F00).
Corequisite(s): LABR 4F90 or 4F91.

LABR 4P15
Canadian Political Economy
(also offered as POLI 4P15)
Political economy tradition in Canada from the writings of Innis, Mackintosh and Creighton to contemporary neo-Marxist and dependency theorists. Topics may include foreign investment, regional development, the labour movement, resources and Canada's place in the new international economy.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to LABR, INPE and POLS (single or combined) majors with either a minimum of 14.0 overall credits and a minimum 70 percent major average or approval to year 4 (honours).

LABR 4P31
Women, Work and Unions
(also offered as SOCI 4P31 and WISE 4P31)
Theoretical and research developments concerning women's paid and unpaid work. Topics may also include union activism, collective bargaining priorities and related government policies.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to LABR, SOCI (single or combined) and WISE (single or combined) majors until date specified in Registration guide. Students must have approval to year 4 (honours).
Prerequisite(s): one of LABR 1F90 (LABR 1P91 and 1P92), SOCI 1F90, WISE 1F90.

LABR 4P32
Sociology of Work
(also offered as SOCI 4P32 and WISE 4P32)
Theoretical and research developments in the sociology of work. Topics may include the impact of technological innovation on the labour process, reconceptualizations of work and leisure, changes in the gendered nature of work, the role of the contemporary labour movement and international perspectives on labour and the labour force.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to LABR, SOCI (single or combined) and WISE (single or combined) majors until date specified in Registration guide. Students must have approval to year 4 (honours).
Prerequisite(s): two SOCI or LABR credits or permission of the Department Administrator.
Note: SOCI 2P32 recommended.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade and credit obtained in LABR (SOCI/WISE) 4F30.

LABR 4P35
Gendered Patterns of Resistance and Survival
(also offered as SOCI 4P35 and WISE 4P35)
Examination of the ways in which women and men, separately and together, seek to resist and survive the social and economic turmoil of the early 21 century. Focus on individuals, families, communities and resistance in the context of global economic reorganization. Topics may include case studies in the Niagara Peninsula.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to LABR, SOCI (single of combined) and WISE (single or combined) majors until date specified in Registration Guide. Students must have approval to year 4 (honours).

LABR 4P53
Masculinities, Culture and Economy
(also offered as SOCI 4P53 and WISE 4P53)
Theoretical and empirical issues in the study of relationships between masculinities and cultural and economic processes and structures. May include ethnicity, racialization, sexuality, nationalism, popular culture, leisure, changes in work and the labour market, class formation, and the regional identity.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to LABR, SOCI (single or combined) and WISE (single or combined) majors until date specified in Registration guide. Students must have approval to year 4 (honours).
Prerequisite(s): two SOCI credits or permission of the Department Administrator.

LABR 4P54
Business-Government Relations
(also offered as POLI 4P54)
Politics and management of relations between business organizations and governments in Canada, emphasizing current research issues. Topics include theories of business-government relations, the legislative and regulatory environment of business, public enterprise and privatization, lobbying and interaction among government, business, the media and labour.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to LABR, INPE and POLS (single or combined) majors with either a minimum of 14.0 overall credits and a minimum 70 percent major average or approval to year 4 (honours).
Prerequisite(s): LABR 2Q98 (2F98 or 3P50) or permission of the instructor.
Note: also open to non-POLS majors with a relevant background in other disciplines and permission of the Department.

LABR 4P92
Directed Studies I
Guided reading on a topic not covered in the Department's regular course offerings.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to LABR majors with approval to year 4 (honours).
Note: topics must be chosen in consultation with a participating Faculty member willing to supervise the course.

LABR 4P93
Directed Studies II
Guided reading on a topic not covered in the Department's regular course offerings.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to LABR majors with approval to year 4 (honours).
Note: topics must be chosen in consultation with a participating Faculty member willing to supervise the course.