Labour Studies Courses

LABR 1P91
Introduction to Labour Studies
History of Canadian workers and unions. The evolution of work and the labour movement within the context of the social, economic and political lives of workers. The historical relationship between employers and employees and the basis for their conflict and co-operation.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.

LABR 1P92
Introduction to Issues in Labour Studies
Core concepts and key issues in work and labour in contemporary Canadian society. Topics may include the organization of work, technological change, occupational health and safety, pay and employment equity, women in the paid labour force, economic restructuring and its effect on work and labour and the changing face of the labour movement.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite: LABR 1P91 or permission of the instructor.

LABR 2F00
Labour Law and Labour Unions
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, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisites: LABR 1P91 and 1P92 or permission of the instructor.

LABR 2F98
Public Administration
(also offered as COMM 2F98 and POLI 2F98)
Political, legal and managerial dimensions of public administration. Topics include the structure and management of public organizations; government reform; political-bureaucratic relations; pressure groups; personnel and budgetary processes; the policy process; ethics and accountability.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite: one of LABR 1P91 and 1P92, 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 in LABR (COMM/ POLI) 3F51 and POLI 3P50.

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.
Prerequisites: ECON 1P91 and 1P92.

LABR 2P32
The Sociology of Work
(also offered as SOCI 2P32)
Changes in the organization of work and the composition of the work force with emphasis on the Niagara Peninsula. Topics include unionization, management strategies, pay equity and employment equity, international division of labour and other current issues in the Canadian labour movement.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to LABR and SOCI (single or combined) majors until date specified in the BIRT guide. Prerequisite: LABR 1P91 and 1P92 or SOCI 1F90 or permission of the instructor.

LABR 2P34
Trade Unions
(also offered as SOCI 2P34)
Interdisciplinary approach to the study of trade unions. Economic, political and sociological understanding of the role of trade unions in society. May include an international comparative perspective.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite: LABR 1P91 and 1P92 or permission of the instructor.

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

LABR 2P94
Canadian Economic Issues
(also offered as ECON 2P94)
Canadian economic and business problems and policies. Topics may include stabilization, competition, taxation, foreign trade and exchange rate policies.
Lectures, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisites: ECON 1P91 and 1P92.

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: one of LABR 1P91 and 1P92, ECON 1P91 and 1P92, one POLI credit numbered 1(alpha)90 to 1(alpha)99, SOCI 1F90.

LABR 3F00
Labour Studies Seminar
Advanced study of contemporary issues in Labour Studies with emphasis on students' research and analysis.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: students must have a minimum of 8.0 overall credits.
Prerequisites: LABR 1P91, 1P92 and one other LABR credit or permission of the instructor.

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 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: 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. Emphasis on policy applications.
Lectures, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite: 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: ECON 2P21 or 2P23.

LABR 3P30
Sociology of Women and Work
(also offered as SOCI 3P30 and WISE 3P30)
Quantitative and qualitative research exploring the societal significance and implications of the change in women's participation in paid employment and domestic labour in this century. Topics include the ghettoization of the female labour force, women in professional and non-traditional occupations, microtechnology, part-time work and unionization.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to LABR, SOCI (single or combined) and WISE majors until date specified in the BIRT guide.
Prerequisite: one of LABR 1P91 and 1P92, SOCI 1F90 or WISE 1F90 or permission of the instructor.

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. The 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.
Restriction: open to LABR and SOCI (single or combined) majors until date specified in the BIRT guide. Prerequisite: LABR 1P91 and 1P92 or SOCI 1F90 or permission of the instructor.

LABR 3P33
The State and Economic Life
(also offered as POLI 3P33)
Political economy and the role of the state. Relationships between politics and markets and between democracy, capitalism and socialism. Topics may include regulation, public ownership, taxation, fiscal and monetary policy, income support programs, regional development and the screening of foreign direct investment.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite: 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 and SOCI (single or combined) majors until date specified in the BIRT guide. Prerequisite: LABR 1P91 and 1P92 or SOCI 1F90 or permission of the instructor.

LABR 3P65
Introduction to Public Policy
(also offered as POLI 3P65)
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: one POLI credit numbered 1(alpha)90 to 1(alpha)99 or permission of the instructor.

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 and SOCI (single or combined) majors until date specified in the BIRT guide. Prerequisite: LABR 1P91 and 1P92 or SOCI 1F90 or permission of the instructor.

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.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in LABR (CANA/ HIST) 3Q95.

LABR 3V90-3V94
Special Topics in Labour Studies
Special topics courses not offered on a regular basis.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisites: LABR 1P91 and 1P92 or permission of the instructor.

LABR 3V95-3V99
Directed Studies
Guided readings on a topic not covered in the program's regular course offerings.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: permission of the instructor.
Prerequisites: LABR 1P91 and 1P92.
Note: topics must be chosen in consultation with a faculty member willing to supervise.

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: LABR 3F00.
Co-requisite: LABR 4P91.

LABR 4P15
Canadian Political Economy
(also offered as POLI 4P15)
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 POLS (single or combined) majors and students with a concentration in LABR with either a minimum of 14.0 overall credits and a minimum 70 percent major average or approval to year 4 (honours).

LABR 4P32
Advanced Seminar in the 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 majors until date specified in the BIRT guide. Students must have approval to year 4 (honours).
Prerequisites: two SOCI or LABR credits or permission of the instructor.
Note: SOCI 2P32 recommended.

LABR 4P54
Business-Government Relations
(also offered as POLI 4P54)
The 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 POLS(single or combined) majors and students with a concentration in LABR with either a minimum of 14.0 overall credits and a minimum 70 percent major average or approval to year 4 (honours).
Prerequisite: LABR 2F98 (3F51) or POLI 3P50 or permission of the instructor.
Note: also open to non-POLI majors with a relevant background in other disciplines and permission of the department.

LABR 4P91
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(s) applications.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite: LABR 3F00.
Co-requisite: LABR 4F90 or 4F91.

LABR 4P92
Directed Studies I
Guided reading on a topic not covered in the program'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 program'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 4V80-4V89
Special Topics in Labour Studies
Selected topics not covered in the department's regular course offerings.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to LABR majors with approval to year 4 (honours).