Labor Movements Org Power

1 Credit · Level: Undergraduate

“Women are the backbone of the movement” is a phrase often heard in labor organizing spaces. Which movement and how may vary, but what remains constant is that without the labor, knowledge, and leadership of women, movements would not happen. This course explores the labor movement through feminist care ethics, asking not only how women participate in organizing, but how practices of care, interdependence, and emotional labor function as strategic infrastructure within movements. This course is not a survey of labor history. Rather than attempting comprehensive historical coverage, it draws on selected historical moments, organizing traditions, and contemporary case studies to examine how feminist organizing operates in practice. Students will explore labor histories and organizing philosophies alongside feminist theoretical texts, many of which fall outside traditional labor studies in order to analyze the modern labor movement and its future. Grounded in the belief that “theory without practice is sterile”, the course is designed as a discussion-based, experiential seminar, not a lecture course. Class sessions emphasize reflection, peer collaboration, and collective analysis, often in conversation with guest organizers and practitioners. Experiential learning takes place primarily during scheduled class time, with one required off-campus labor event attended independently by students. Learning is treated as a process that is co-constructed among students, guest speakers, and the instructor.