UWS 12B: Domestic Labor: Class, Race, and GenderInstructor: Courtney Miller Prerequisites: None Course Description: In 2018, the nation’s first ever Federal Domestic Workers Bill of Rights was proposed. If successful, this legislation will be the culmination of years of lobbying to address the forces of classism, racism, and sexism that have contributed to the subjugation and devaluing of domestic workers and the labor they perform, including but not limited to: housekeeping, cooking, and childcare. In this course, students will examine and develop arguments about the social, cultural, and economic conditions and systems that underpin the pervasive exploitation of domestic labor in the U.S. and abroad. By thinking about how domestic labor is imagined in literature, television, and film, students will unpack paradigms of privilege and power, and carefully consider the intersections of class, gender, and race. Domestic labor in the U.S. is tinged with the legacy of slavery and its divisions of labor along lines of both race and gender, as well as the legacy of the devaluation of women’s work within the household (under capitalism, all feminized labor is systematically undervalued or dismissed as unproductive). While unpaid domestic labor is a significant and important field of study, this class focuses on social, cultural, and public policy debates surrounding paid domestic labor. Session: Session II Day: M, T, Th Time: 9:00am - 11:30am Credit Hours: 4 Credits Course Format: 2340 Brandeis Graduation Requirement Fulfilled: UWS Enrollment Limit: 10 students Course Classification: Undergraduate Level Course Course Tuition: $3,100 Course Fees: None Open to High School Students: Yes |
