Do you teach an undergraduate course related to organizations, occupations, and/or work? If so, please consider participating in this brief online survey.
The purpose of the survey is to gather recommendations and resources for teaching undergraduate OOW courses that can later be shared with OOW section members. If you have any questions about the survey, please contact Ali Hendley at ahendley@murraystate.edu. Thank you!
Survey link: https://forms.gle/hQ6hL8jZokXZ8Ni48
From Chris Andrews – Drew University: I saw the OOW at the Movies post and added several movies to the growing list on the Google spreadsheet, but I also thought I’d share several assignments from my Sociology of Work class that incorporate films and/or television. Films and documentaries can be a great way for students to learn vicariously about all sorts of aspects of organizations, occupations, and work!
AOM members interested in network analysis have benefited from various PDWs that cater to their need to keep up to date with the methods and theories in this area, but there is only one forum for learning how to bring their research interests into the classroom: the Teaching Social Networks PDW. Now in its fourth year, this ongoing forum for AOM members interested in teaching social networks to different audiences offers an opportunity to share and learn practical insights on how to prepare and deliver impactful sessions or entire courses on the topic.
At the beginning of my doctoral workshops on academic writing, I start with a simple question: “when you sit down to compose your draft paper, what does the space look like around you? Is it covered with books and journals? Photocopies of papers and articles?” Most students confirm this description, but others say no, it’s just them and their computer. However, when I push them, it turns out that they have multiple files open on their computer, with digital copies of papers and articles ready to be consulted. My response is always the same. I tell them they’ve begun to write too soon. They have skipped the stage where they impose their own interpretations on what they’ve read. They have failed to make the material useful for the narrative structure of their own story.
Continue reading “Using the literature in your writing: interpretive notes, not summaries”
I teach an undergraduate seminar entitled Work in the “New” Economy (my students call it “WITNE”). I’ve taught a version of this course since 2004. The “new” originally referred to the rise of service work in the 1990s, but the useful thing about the title is that it allows us to examine waves of transformation over time: in workers’ rights, in collective actions, in the forms of discrimination used to protect dominance, and in the distribution of opportunity.
There’s always something new in the sociology of work. And now we have a new tool to use in teaching the sociology of work, organizations and labor studies: the Work in Progress blog. The blog hosts short articles (800-1,200 words), written in accessible language, showcasing recent findings or providing news analysis and commentary on current events. The blog also hosts “virtual panels” on a variety of topics.
Erin Kelly (kelly101@umn.edu) writes:
As the spring term wraps up, I wanted to experiment with a new type of blog post asking people to share their teaching wisdom. If you have ideas for future Teaching Talk posts, please send them to me or Matt Vidal (mgvidal@gmail.com).
What was the single best reading in your undergraduate organizations, occupations, or work course this year? Why did it work, i.e. what was the central message for students and what did they find engaging? Please specify the course you were teaching (title, level) as well.
I am particularly interested in readings on social service organization(s) or social movement organization(s) because I’ll be teaching a capstone course with a service-learning component next year, but it would be great to hear about readings on a variety of topics as we reflect back on this year and plan for next year.
Organizations, Occupations and Work 