Kathi Weeks' The Problem with Work [5-week Reading Group, $150 suggested]
***This class has already started, but interested students can audit this course asynchronously.
Instructor: Madden | Thursdays May 5-June 2 | 7:00-8:30 PM ET
For so many of us, work dominates our lives. Why do we root our identity and sense of purpose in our jobs? For Kathi Weeks, the problem with work is not just that it occupies so much of our time and steals so much of our energy. It does do those things. But also, and more insidiously, the problem is that ideas about the value of work dominate our imagination. In The Problem with Work: Feminism, Marxism, Antiwork Politics, and Postwork Imaginaries, Weeks redirects Marxist feminisms to challenge the common knowledge that waged labor is, without question, a social and political good.Weeks takes aim at systems and structures rather than individuals in order to articulate an “antiwork politics.” She challenges the position of work as it sits at both the center of our lives and at the top of our hierarchy of values. It is possible to imagine and create otherwise.
We’ll complement our study of The Problem with Work with materials that extend or question its arguments, and we’ll pair it with ideas developed by Weeks since she published the text in 2011, such asthe concept of “essential work” and the directive to “do what you love.”
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We depend on a mix of direct student donations and supplemental donations to make all classes pay-what-you-can. Please pick the pricing tier that corresponds with your needs and that you are able to pay now. If you would like to pay in installments, make your first payment now and make a note on your check-out form. If you would like to donate more later in the term, you can always come back and use the “Make a One Time Donation” button! To use a full scholarship, just pick the $3 tier to cover site/processor fees.
If at any point up to 48 hours before your first class session you realize you will be unable to take the class, we will work with you to reallocate your funds to a future class, to another student’s scholarship, or refund it. After classes begin, we are only able to make partial refunds and adjustments.
***This class has already started, but interested students can audit this course asynchronously.
Instructor: Madden | Thursdays May 5-June 2 | 7:00-8:30 PM ET
For so many of us, work dominates our lives. Why do we root our identity and sense of purpose in our jobs? For Kathi Weeks, the problem with work is not just that it occupies so much of our time and steals so much of our energy. It does do those things. But also, and more insidiously, the problem is that ideas about the value of work dominate our imagination. In The Problem with Work: Feminism, Marxism, Antiwork Politics, and Postwork Imaginaries, Weeks redirects Marxist feminisms to challenge the common knowledge that waged labor is, without question, a social and political good.Weeks takes aim at systems and structures rather than individuals in order to articulate an “antiwork politics.” She challenges the position of work as it sits at both the center of our lives and at the top of our hierarchy of values. It is possible to imagine and create otherwise.
We’ll complement our study of The Problem with Work with materials that extend or question its arguments, and we’ll pair it with ideas developed by Weeks since she published the text in 2011, such asthe concept of “essential work” and the directive to “do what you love.”
—
We depend on a mix of direct student donations and supplemental donations to make all classes pay-what-you-can. Please pick the pricing tier that corresponds with your needs and that you are able to pay now. If you would like to pay in installments, make your first payment now and make a note on your check-out form. If you would like to donate more later in the term, you can always come back and use the “Make a One Time Donation” button! To use a full scholarship, just pick the $3 tier to cover site/processor fees.
If at any point up to 48 hours before your first class session you realize you will be unable to take the class, we will work with you to reallocate your funds to a future class, to another student’s scholarship, or refund it. After classes begin, we are only able to make partial refunds and adjustments.
***This class has already started, but interested students can audit this course asynchronously.
Instructor: Madden | Thursdays May 5-June 2 | 7:00-8:30 PM ET
For so many of us, work dominates our lives. Why do we root our identity and sense of purpose in our jobs? For Kathi Weeks, the problem with work is not just that it occupies so much of our time and steals so much of our energy. It does do those things. But also, and more insidiously, the problem is that ideas about the value of work dominate our imagination. In The Problem with Work: Feminism, Marxism, Antiwork Politics, and Postwork Imaginaries, Weeks redirects Marxist feminisms to challenge the common knowledge that waged labor is, without question, a social and political good.Weeks takes aim at systems and structures rather than individuals in order to articulate an “antiwork politics.” She challenges the position of work as it sits at both the center of our lives and at the top of our hierarchy of values. It is possible to imagine and create otherwise.
We’ll complement our study of The Problem with Work with materials that extend or question its arguments, and we’ll pair it with ideas developed by Weeks since she published the text in 2011, such asthe concept of “essential work” and the directive to “do what you love.”
—
We depend on a mix of direct student donations and supplemental donations to make all classes pay-what-you-can. Please pick the pricing tier that corresponds with your needs and that you are able to pay now. If you would like to pay in installments, make your first payment now and make a note on your check-out form. If you would like to donate more later in the term, you can always come back and use the “Make a One Time Donation” button! To use a full scholarship, just pick the $3 tier to cover site/processor fees.
If at any point up to 48 hours before your first class session you realize you will be unable to take the class, we will work with you to reallocate your funds to a future class, to another student’s scholarship, or refund it. After classes begin, we are only able to make partial refunds and adjustments.