Introduction to Labour Studies LBST 200 is open to all Athabasca University students (and other students who wish to take the course for transfer credit elsewhere) who are interested in the subject matter. Historically LBST 202 was offered with the same content and was the designation used for students who registered through the Labour College of Canada.
Overview
This course examines the field of labour studies and the place of working people and the labour movement in society. It provides an overview of Canadian labour history, the ways unions are organized, why they matter, and which challenges they are facing today. The course then takes a closer look at unions in the public sector, where the majority of unionized workers in Canada are employed, and concludes with a look at labour experiences in India, China, and South Africa to see whether these experiences contain lessons that might be useful to the labour movement in Canada or other countries of the Global North.
Outline
Unit 1: What Is Labour? Why Study It and How?
Unit 2: The Canadian Labour Movement: Past, Present, and Perspectives
Unit 3: Unions in the Public Sector
Unit 4: Work in Progress: A Global Labour Movement
Evaluation
To receive credit for LBST 200, you must complete three written assignments, contribute to four discussion forums, and achieve an overall grade of D (50 percent)or better for the entire course. Your final grade is determined by a weighted average of the grades you receive on these assignments for credit. The weightings of each assignment are as indicated below.
Activity
Weight
Assignment 1: Book Review
20%
Assignment 2: Essay
25%
Assignment 3: Essay
35%
Assignment 4: Discussion Forum 1
5%
Assignment 5: Discussion Forum 2
5%
Assignment 6: Discussion Forum 3
5%
Assignment 7: Discussion Forum 4
5%
Total
100%
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University’s online Calendar.
Materials
Ross, S., Savage, L., Black, E., & Silver, J. (2015). Building a better world: An introduction to the labour movement in Canada (4th ed.). Black Point, NS: Fernwood Publishing. (Print)
Ross, S., & Savage, L. (Eds.). (2013). Public sector unions in the age of austerity. Black Point, NS: Fernwood Publishing. (Print)
Ness, I. (2016). Southern insurgency: The coming of the global working class. London, UK: Pluto Press. (Print)
Other Materials
Other course materials include an AU Student Manual, Course Information, and a Study Guide, which are all available online through the course home page.
Challenge for credit
Overview
The challenge for credit process allows you to demonstrate that you have acquired a command of the general subject matter, knowledge, intellectual and/or other skills that would normally be found in a university-level course.
Full information about challenge for credit can be found in the Undergraduate Calendar.
Evaluation
To receive credit for the LBST 200 challenge registration, you must achieve a grade of at least D (50 percent)on the challenge assignment.
Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice. Courses offered by other delivery methods may vary from their individualized study counterparts.