Work is a central preoccupation in human life and culture, and the working day – measured in daylight, in shifts, or in tasks and ‘gigs’ – is, for most people, the basic unit of work. A ‘day’s work’ is so ubiquitous that it seems natural – but it is not – the offices, worksites, hourly wages and everyday forms of discipline and surveillance that shape working lives have a history. This course explores the transnational and diasporic histories of working life, from plantations to factories to offices to informal work at the margins of global industrial capitalism.
Work is a central preoccupation in human life and culture, and the working day – measured in daylight, in shifts, or in tasks and ‘gigs’ – is, for most people, the basic unit of work. A ‘day’s work’ is so ubiquitous that it seems natural – but it is not – the offices, worksites, hourly wages and everyday forms of discipline and surveillance that shape working lives have a history. This course explores the transnational and diasporic histories of working life, from plantations to factories to offices to informal work at the margins of global industrial capitalism.
