The Politics of Productivity

Why are we so obsessed with productivity? This course examines how productivity became the central value of the contemporary work ethic (displacing rival ideals such as craft and vocation) and how the veneration of productivity interacts with gender and race. We begin by exploring classic accounts of labor from philosophy and economics, as well as more recent accounts of technology and automation. The bulk of the course will then focus on how artists and writers have responded to—and often contested—the imperative to be productive. Readings include Karl Marx, the Bible, Adam Smith, Hannah Arendt, Alison Bechdel, George Eliot, Émile Zola, Herman Melville, Toni Morrison, Richard Wright, Caro Claire Burke, Nella Larsen, and Richard Bruce Nugent. Students will write short response papers, analyze a social-media influencer of their choice, and pursue an original research project related to the course’s themes.