Duration
30h Th
Number of credits
| Master in labour sciences, research focus | 3 crédits | |||
| Master in labour sciences (60 ECTS) | 3 crédits | |||
| Extra courses intended for exchange students (Erasmus, ...) (Faculty of social sciences) | 3 crédits |
Lecturer
Language(s) of instruction
French language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the second semester
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
The course aims to put into historical perspective a range of aspects of the subject matter of the Master's degree in Labor Sciences. For teaching purposes, a provisional distinction will be made between "work" and the people, workers, who perform it and organize themselves to defend their rights in relation to this activity.
The course consists of three main parts.
The first part deals with the evolution of conceptions of work.
It will first examine the status and place of work in Western societies since ancient times, particularly in relation to the status of individuals, and then address medieval and modern conceptions of work. Significant attention will be given to the role of classical political economy (from Smith to Marx) in the way work is conceived.
The second part of the course is devoted to the history of the organization of production.
Significant attention will be given to the way in which work is organized, making a clear distinction between prescribed work and actual work, from the beginnings of industrial mechanization to platform work, including the Taylorist shift.
The third part of the course is dedicated to workers.
This work is carried out by men and women whom nascent capitalism and its successive forms had to recruit, locally, through internal and then external migration. The study of this recruitment will be followed by a presentation of the quantitative configuration of this industrial workforce. We will also look at what capitalism does to these workers, which raises the question of occupational hazards and health risks at work.
We will then examine how working men and women organized themselves to defend their interests, how the state positioned itself in relation to social issues, and finally, the social institutions that resulted from this. This last point will be divided into two parts, with an emphasis on the specificities of Belgium: industrial relations and welfare.
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
By the end of the course, students will be able to better understand some aspects of the today working life, putted back in their historical context. They will be more systematically attentive to the socially situated nature of provisions or decisions relating to work (and which sometimes seem purely technical), its organisation and the sharing of its results.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
The course will mainly take the form of ex-cathedra teaching, but will be prepared by recommended readings.
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Face-to-face course
Course materials and recommended or required readings
Platform(s) used for course materials:
- MyULiège
Further information:
The reading of articles will be offered prior to certain lessons; the portfolio of articles recommended for reading will not include as many articles as there are lessons. Furthermore, the June/September assessment will not require students to master the information contained solely in these articles; the assessment will focus exclusively on the material covered in the course and summarised in the PPT slides covered in the course.
Exam(s) in session
May-June exam session
- In-person
written exam ( open-ended questions )
August-September exam session
- In-person
oral exam
Further information:
In June, the exam will be written. In September, the exam will be oral; It begins with written preparation of the answer to a first question (chosen at random), for which a maximum of fifteen minutes is allowed. This is followed by two other questions (linked to the first question by their number, which appears below the question printed on the sheet chosen at random; so when you choose the first question, you are actually choosing all three questions), for which the preparation time will be shorter.
Work placement(s)
Organisational remarks and main changes to the course
Contacts
Eric Geerkens, professor
Histoire économique et sociale
quai Roosevelt 1B (Bât. A4)
4000 Liège
Belgium
Tel. ULg : +32 4 366 53 59
Mail : e.geerkens@uliege.be