LIR & WMNST 472: Work-Life
Spring 2007
Welcome to the world of work-life, a topic that has recently attracted much attention from researchers, the media, and policy-makers. The critical issues we cover concern how employment and life at home interact. The field exists because white, middle-class mothers, who were largely homemakers 50 years ago, are now mainly employed. For these women and their partners, juggling work and family tends to be difficult. The field has since expanded to cover a variety of family types, fathers as well as mothers, caregivers who provide elder care, people at diverse points in their lives, and various ethnic groups. These turn out to be important, as the needs of individuals differ depending upon whether they are single or partnered, whether they are men or women, whether they are caring for very young children, teenagers, disabled adults, or the elderly, and depending upon where the individual is located in society.
Those of us in the field try to discover ways that families, employers, unions and various governmental bodies can make life better for those caught juggling work and family. The course then has two objectives. First, the course should provide an opportunity for intellectual discovery, as we explore how employment and home life fit (or often do not fit). Second, the course is intended to provide you with ways of thinking about your own life, both as a prospective employee, family member, and citizen.
Critical reading, thinking and writing is central to accomplishing the objectives of the course. For purposes of reading, this means asking 1) can I describe a specific reading briefly, 2) did the author accomplish what she or he set out to do, 3) do the data (if used) fit the author's arguments, 4) does the reading help to make sense of your world, 5) does the reading help to make sense of the lives of others here in the U.S. and abroad, and 6) what is missing or wrong with the reading, and does it contradict other readings?
This course uses a living syllabus approach, so you should check the world-wide web version of this syllabus regularly for any changes in the scheduling of readings or assignments and for any revisions to the discussion questions. If you or I discover better or more up-to-date readings during the semester, readings can be switched, but the class will always have at least two weeks notice of any changes (and the assigned books will not be changed).
Readings:
Most of the readings are available by clicking on this syllabus from the world-wide web
(http://lsir.la.psu.edu/workfam/lirwmst472.htm). Articles that are not directly available from the web
are available either directly from the on-line PSU "CAT" (check the
catalogue entry for the link) or through the "e-journals" links on the library
web page. The three books you need to purchase can be found (often used) at www.amazon.com or
www.barnesandnoble.com and are:
Eileen Appelbaum, ed. Balancing Acts: Easing the Burdens and Improving the Options for Working Families, Washington DC: Economic Policy Institute, 2000.
Robert Drago, Striking a Balance: Work, Family, Life. Boston: Dollars & Sense, 2007.
Anita Ilta Garey, Weaving Work & Motherhood, Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1999.
Jody Heymann, The Widening Gap, New York: Basic Books, 2000.
Course Requirements:
Students who attend class, engage in discussions, do the readings prior to class, and work on the project throughout the semester will do well. If you miss more than two weeks of class for any reason, or are often late, it will be very difficult to pass this class, so please plan on regular, and on-time attendance!
Project: A project, concluding with a 15-page paper due during the final examination period or a 20-minute in-class presentation, should pull the course together for students. For the project, you pick a real family (it need not be your own, but could be), and give a history of work and family commitments and conflicts. For example, if you picked your mother, you might ask a) what plans she had for work, family, marriage and education during high school, b) how these plans actually played out and why they (usually) did not work as hoped, c) how children, other family issues, and volunteer work or paid employment (if relevant) was juggled with those other commitments, and d) what policies he or she thinks might have helped. This history and discussion should be analyzed in light of the class readings and discussion (e.g., whether the circumstances were typical, and how societal gender, race and class patterns fit or do not fit), and conclude with your own policy prescriptions. Students are invited to (but do not have to) work on these projects in groups of two. If you work in a group, you will also be expected to analyze: a) who 'pays' for any policies or strategies you suggest (including time and money), b) why your suggested strategies are fair, and c) whether the strategies are likely to be implemented soon and why. Eight students will be able to present the project in class; powerpoint will be available and should be used for in-class presentations, but no written version of the presentation is required. For those of you who would like to undertake a different research project, please let me know and that can be arranged. A one-page outline of the paper is due on March 21 [the project is 30% of the final grade, 3% based on the outline] Sample powerpoint
Class Attendance: Starting on January 24, students who regularly attend class will receive at least half of the points possible here, and those who are active in discussions on a regular basis will receive full credit (i.e., 3 pts. of 6 each period for attendance, with 6 pts. for students who demonstrate knowledge of the readings). Being active in discussion means a) doing the readings beforehand, and b) providing thoughtful feedback on the readings. I will toss out two class period's worth of participation (or one week). Also, attendance at Nancy Folbre's lecture (Mar 19, 3p, 101 Pattee Library) or the Student/Alumni Forum (Mar 12, 7:30p, Nittany Lion Inn Board Room), can make up for one missed class period. [30% of final grade]
Quizzes: There will be 11 quizzes, one for each week (with Jan. 24, 29 & 31 counting as a single week, and 2/26, 2/28/ 3/5 and 3/7 also counting as a single week). These will be given at the beginning of class on either Monday or Wednesday, and will last ten minutes each. Each quiz will include two to five short answer questions, and will cover the readings assigned for the three class periods up to and including that day. You can either miss one quiz or the lowest quiz score will be dropped [4% for each of 10 quizzes counts toward the final grade, for 40% of the total on the final grade].
Workfam Newsgroup: Students should join "workfam," the newsgroup that I moderate. This is a weekly summary of research and events in the field. We will start Tuesday class with a discussion of materials from the last week's post. Just send an email to drago@psu.edu saying "put me on," and you will be. Unlike most other newsgroups, you will not be able to reply or post directly to the group, but please feel free to mention in class any materials you think should be covered on the newsgroup that week.
Course grade: Final grades will be scored out of 100 possible points using the scale A 93-100, A- 90-92, B+ 87-89, B 83-86, B- 80-82, C+ 77-79, C 70-76, D 60-69, F 59 or below.
Academic Integrity: Penn State defines academic integrity as the pursuit of scholarly activity in an open, honest and responsible manner. All students should act with personal integrity, respect other students’ dignity, rights and property, and help create and maintain an environment in which all can succeed through the fruits of their efforts (Faculty Senate Policy 49-20).
Dishonesty of any kind will not be tolerated in this course. Dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarizing, fabricating information or citations, facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others, having unauthorized possession of examinations, submitting work of another person or work previously used without informing the instructor, or tampering with the academic work of other students. Students who are found to be dishonest will receive academic sanctions and will be reported to the University’s Judicial Affairs office for possible further disciplinary sanction.
If any student has a special need for accommodation, please let me know on the first day of class.
CLASS SCHEDULE
Introduction of the Class 1/17
An introduction to the issues and to class members, and a survey.
Take Care Net, "The Work and Family Bill of Rights," 2005.
The Family & Medical Leave Act 1/22
U.S. Dept. of Labor, Questions and Answers on the FMLA, 2003.
Tara Habasevich, Why We Need Paid Family Leave, Take Care Net, 2004.
Lissa Bell & Sandra Newman, Paid Family and Medical Leave: Why We Need It and How We Can Get It, Family Caregiver Alliance, 2003.
Introduction to the Field 1/24-1/31
Robert Drago, "Striking a Balance," C1&2 (1/24), C3&4 (1/29), C5,6&7 (1/31)
The Broader Context
Eileen Appelbaum, ed. Balancing Acts. (Intro. & Ch.s 1-2 on 2/5, Ch.s 3-5 on 2/12, Ch.s 6-8 on 2/14, Ch.s 9-10 on 2/19) NOTES for entire
Motherhood Manifesto (movie) 2/7
Working Time Change 2/21
Jackie Rogers, "The Politics of Time Transfer in the Teaching Profession," Work and Occupations, April 2001.
Ellen Galinsky, et al. "Overwork in America: Summary," 2005.
Mary Dean Lee and Ellen Ernst Kossek, "Crafting Lives That Work: A Six-Year Retrospective on Reduced-Hours Work" 2005.
Work, Family & Gender 2/26-3/7
Anita Ilta Garey, Weaving Work & Motherhood (Ch.s 1-2 on 2/26, Ch.s 3-4 on 2/28, Ch.s 5-6 on 3/5, Ch.s 7-8 on 3/7)
Unions and Work/Family 3/19NOTES [NOTE: class will end at 2:50p so students can attend the Nancy Folbre lecture]
Naomi Gerstel and Dan Clawson, "Unions Responses to Family Concerns," Social Problems 48(2), 2001, 277-298.
Joan Williams, "One Sick Child Away from Being Fired," Report for WorkLifeLaw, 2004.
The UAW/Ford Family Service & Learning Center online http://www.familycenteronline.org/
Poverty and Work-Family 3/21-3/28
Jody Heymann, The Widening Gap (Ch.s 1-3 on 3/21, Ch.s 4-6 on 3/26, Ch.s 7-8 on 3/28)
OUTLINE OF FINAL PROJECT DUE 3/21
Sexual Harassment 4/2 NOTES
PSU Policies on Sexual Harassment, 2000.
Cases of Sexual Harassment, 2000.
Immigrants and Child Care 4/4
Hannah Matthews and Danielle Ewen, Reaching All Children? Understanding Early Care and Education Participation Among Immigrant Families, January 2006.
Australia & the U.S.: A Comparative Perspective 4/9
Robert Drago, Rosanna Scutella, & Amy Varner, "Work and Family Directions in the US and Australia: A Policy Research Agenda," Journal of Industrial Relations (forthcoming). Paper here.
Child Care & Work/Family at PSU (guest speaker: Linda Pierce, Coordinator of Work/Life Programs, PSU) 4/11 NOTES
U.S. Office of Personnel Management, "Types of Child Care," October 1999.
21st Century Community Learning Centers, "Frequently Asked Questions," March 2000 (after school care)
Nat. Assoc. for the Education of Young Children, "Accreditation." 2003.
CLASP, The Senate's $6 Billion Child Care Provision. 2005.
Student Presentations: 4/16-5/2
Final Project due on 5/7 at classtime. Papers should be sent as an attachment by email to drago@psu.edu, and have your name (only) on the first page, with the paper beginning on the 2nd. Please save a copy of the paper in case the original is lost!