GENERAL
| SCHOOL | School of Economics and Political Science |
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| DEPARTMENT | Sociology |
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| Level of Study | Undergraduate |
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| COURSE CODE | 431027 |
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| COURSE TITLE | Sociology of Labour (S) |
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| Independent Teaching Activities |
Weekly Teaching Hours |
CREDIT UNITS |
| Lectures - assignments |
3 |
6 |
| TOTAL |
3 |
6 |
| Course Type | General Knowledge |
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| Prerequisite Courses | No |
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| Teaching and Examination Language | Greek |
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| THE COURSE IS OFFERED TO ERASMUS STUDENTS | Yes |
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| Course Webpage (URL) | |
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(2) LEARNING OUTCOMES
The course will deal with the basic concepts of the sociology of work, with an emphasis on theoretical shifts in recent decades. In light of contemporary theoretical shifts, not only the transformations of labor as a social relation will be examined, but also its very centrality or marginalization in the broader social formation and stratification.
Upon completion of the course, students are expected to be able to:
- Develop sociological reflections on labor.
- To become familiar with basic concepts and theoretical approaches, such as «industrial» and «post-industrial» society, «technocratic» or «programmed» society, «Fordism,» «post-Fordism,» etc.
- Familiarize themselves with contemporary sociological issues related to work, such as precarity, immaterial labor, gender inequalities in the workplace, occupational segregation, etc.
General Capabilities
Beyond the learning outcomes described above, male and female students are encouraged to participate in shaping the course content through the completion of optional supplementary assignments. Both lectures and assignments aim to:
- In exercising criticism and self-criticism
- In the promotion of free, creative, and inductive thinking
- In the interdisciplinary work environment
- In the production of new research ideas
- In the search, analysis, and synthesis of data and information, including the use of necessary technologies
- In individual and/or teamwork
- In demonstrating social, professional, and moral responsibility and sensitivity to gender issues.
- In respect for diversity and multiculturalism
(3) COURSE CONTENT
The course modules, which are adjusted according to the needs and interests of the participants, are distributed as follows:
- Introduction to the sociology of work.
- Industrial capitalist society and the position of labor and the division of labor: Marx, Durkheim, Weber
- The «classic» model of work organization: Taylorism, Fordism
- Transition from Fordism to post-Fordism, from industrial to post-industrial society
- New trends and forms of work organization: tertiarization, Japanization, total control system, lean production
- New forms of work: flexibility, precarity, immaterial labor, emotional labor, new technologies, teleworking
- Race, ethnicity, class: dual labor market – labor mobility
- Gender and work: horizontal and vertical occupational segregation, wage gap, glass ceiling«
- Forms of trade union organization of workers
- Beyond production: the power of labor in the formation of social identities, the dichotomy between work time and free time, the investment, promotion, and sale of the Self rather than merely labor power
- Towards a genealogy of labor in the Greek social formation: convergences and divergences with the Fordist model
- Challenges/working hypotheses for the sociology of work in 21st-century Greece: burning issues, trends and prospects
- Project presentations, recap, syllabus and exam topics
(4) TEACHING & LEARNING METHODS – EVALUATION
| DELIVERY METHOD | Face to face |
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| Information and Communication Technologies | Use of ICT in teaching and in communication with students
|
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| Activity |
Semester Workload |
| Lectures |
39 |
| Literature study and analysis |
49 |
| Preparation of a paper |
30 |
| Independent study / written exam preparation |
32 |
| Course Summary |
150 |
Student Evaluation
| Process Description Evaluation | Optional written assignment
Presentation of optional assignment
Written examination
|
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(5) RECOMMENDED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Suggested Bibliography
a) Course manuals:
- Lytras, A. (2016), Wage Labor in Social Organization: Employment Realities and the Consolidation of Labor Autonomy, Athens: Papazisis.
- Sennett, R. (2008), The Culture of the New Capitalism, Athens: Savvalas.
b) Supplementary bibliography:
- Bonefeld, W. & Holloway, J. (eds.) (1993), Post-Fordism & Social Form: A Marxist Debate on the Post-Fordist State, Athens: Exandas.
- Giddens, A. (1993), Introduction to Sociology, Athens: Odysseas.
- Watson, T. J. (2005), Sociology, Work and Industry, Athens: Alexandria.
- Weber, M. (2005), Economy and Society 1: Sociological Categories, Athens: Savvalas.
- Dedousopoulos, A. (2000), The Crisis in the Labor Market. Regulation – Flexibilities – Deregulation, Volume One «Theories of Unemployment», Athens: Typothito.
- Karamessini, M. (2021), Women, Gender and Labor in Greece, Athens: Nisos.
- Karamessini, M. & Symeonaki, M. (2019), Work-family reconciliation in Greece. Genesis, evolution and evaluation of a policy. Athens: Nisos.
- Lymberaki, A. & Mouriki, A. (2002), The Silent Revolution: New forms of production and labor organization (1st edition 1996), Athens: Gutenberg.
- Maroukis, T. (2010), Economic Migration in Greece: Labor Market and Social Integration, Athens: Papazisis.
- Naxakis, Ch. & Chletsos, M. (eds.) (2005), The Future of Work. Contemporary Socioeconomic Analyses, Athens: Patakis.
- Spyridakis, M. (2018), Homo precarius: Experiences of vulnerability in the crisis. Athens: Pedio.
- Spyridakis, M. & Kravva, V. (eds.) (2021), Trajectories of Precariousness: Ethnographic Approaches, Athens: Gutenberg.
- Tsouusis, D. G. (1989), Human Society. Introduction to Sociology, Athens: Gutenberg.
Related Scientific Journals
- The Review of Social Research
- Sociological Review
- Social Policy
- Social Cohesion and Development
- European Sociological Review
- European Journal of Industrial Relations
- Work, Employment and Society
- European Societies
