Just Wage Research Seminar

(1 Credit Hour) · Undergraduate

This research seminar enlists undergraduates in the interdisciplinary efforts of the Just Wage Initiative (JWI), a collaborative research and advocacy project of the Higgins Labor Program at the Center for Social Concerns. Students will undertake research in two ways: First, they will contribute to the JWI by locating resources, marshaling evidence, and writing short reports, potentially for public use on our website. These tasks are assigned by the instructor; second, they will undertake individual research projects stemming from their own intellectual interests but dovetailing with the broader JWI agenda, producing an essay and making a presentation at semester's end. Here they will be mentored by the instructors, but they will drive that process. As this is a one-credit, letter-graded course, students will engage for roughly three hours per week throughout the semester, meeting every three weeks for 2.5 hours to discuss assigned readings, report on research progress, make presentations, and brainstorm future projects. In addition to the meetings, there will be short weekly writing assignments, plus a longer, 8-10-page essay due at the end of the semester.