Noah Shuster

This seminar will explore the history of the US labor movement from its beginnings in the colonial society of the 1600s to the “globalized” cities of the 2020s. Beginning with the involuntary labor arrangements that structured the continent’s economy from the 1600s to the Civil War, we will focus on the international workers' movement against slavery: abolitionism. The abolitionist struggle will take us from the first rebellions of involuntary workers to the Civil War and the Reconstruction era. From there, we will consider the strikes, uprisings, and organizations of the late 19th- and 20th-century industrial labor movement, beginning with the Great Upheaval of 1877 and ending with the postindustrial urban uprisings of 1967. We will consider the peak of “big labor” during the mid-20th century, alongside the peak in Cold War-era US imperialism that structured the economy during that time. In spring, we will begin by thoroughly considering the major structural shifts in the US economy that began in the 1970s, generally referred to as a combination of “globalization” and “neoliberalism.” These shifts degraded job quality and worker power, relegating the working class to service positions in the “global city” structure. In responding to these shifts, we will consider numerous autonomous unions and “worker centers” that have had 38 economic scholars sprung up to address the new issues of this new economy in the past 20 years. We will also focus on broader 21st-century people’s struggles—such as the anti-globalization movement, Occupy Wall Street, and Black Lives Matter—and how these movements relate to the ongoing workers’ movement. Requirements for the course include discussion posts, short papers, and a group presentation. For the course’s major project, students will have two options. The first is to write two connected final essays, one for each semester. The second is to engage in a yearlong research project, which can be focused on service learning and field placements with local worker centers and unions, if students choose. Students will meet with the instructor biweekly for individual conferences, depending on the student’s needs and the progress of their conference projects. Required texts may include: Strike! by Jeremy Brecher, The Many-Headed Hydra by Peter Linebaugh and Marcus Rediker, An African American and Latinx History of the United States by Paul Ortiz, The Global City by Saskia Sassen, New Labor in New York by Ruth Milkman and Ed Ott, and Labor Law for the Rank and Filer by Staughton Lynd and Daniel Gross.

This seminar course will offer a unique perspective on the history of the United States, focusing on the social movements that have significantly influenced this nation and its policies. We will delve into the formation of these movements, their tactics, and their lasting effects, making the course directly relevant to the social issues of today. We will begin by focusing on a people’s history of abolitionism, beginning with the revolutionary Atlantic uprisings of the 18th century that led up to the revolutionary abolition of slavery throughout much of the Americas. This will lead into course work on the civil disobedience tradition in the United States, with particular focus on the Underground Railroad, the guerrilla warfare that led up to the Civil War, and the general strike of the Black southern proletariat. From there, we will consider how the blossoming of the women’s movement and the workers’ movement in the late 19th century led to the peak of revolutionary radicalism in the United States in the early 20th century, ultimately achieving access to birth control and the New Deal. We will then examine the numerous people’s movements against the mid-20th-century social order throughout the 1960s-1970s, including the Civil Rights movement, Black Power, the LGBTQ movement, the anti-war movement, and second-wave feminism. With these foundations in place, we can then appreciate the ongoing movements of the 21st century, beginning with a focus on the anti-globalization movement at the turn of the century. In our present era, we will follow these currents through movements such as Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter, the numerous uprisings of the 2018-2020 period, and contemporary movements against fascism. As a seminar-based course, academic expectations will include participation in daily class discussions, biweekly discussion posts, and in-class presentations. For conference work, students will develop their own original research project on a particular movement in US history. Projects typically culminate in a final essay and a mini-presentation.

In this yearlong seminar course, we will explore the history of the US labor movement from its beginnings in 1600s colonial society to the “globalized” cities of the 2020s. Beginning with the involuntary labor arrangements that structured the continent's economy from the 1600s to the Civil War, we will focus on the international workers' movement against slavery: abolitionism. The abolitionist struggle will take us from the first rebellions of involuntary workers to the Civil War and the Reconstruction era. From there, we will consider the strikes, uprisings, and organizations of the late 19th- and 20th-century industrial labor movement, beginning with the Great Upheaval of 1877 and ending with the postindustrial urban uprisings of 1967. We will consider the peak of “big labor” during the mid-20th century, alongside the peak in Cold War era US imperialism that structured the economy during that time. We will begin the spring semester by thoroughly considering the major structural shifts in the US economy that began in the 1970s, generally referred to as a combination of “globalization” and “neoliberalism.” These shifts degraded job quality and worker power, relegating the working class to service positions in the “global city” structure. In responding to these shifts, we will consider numerous autonomous unions and “worker centers” that have sprung up to address the new issues of this new economy in the past 20 years. We will also focus on broader 21st-century people's struggles—like the Anti-Globalization Movement, Occupy Wall Street, and Black Lives Matter—and how these movements relate to the ongoing workers' movement. Requirements for the course include discussion posts, short papers, and a group presentation. For the course’s major project, students will have two options. The first is writing two connected final essays, one for each semester. The second is engaging in a yearlong research project, which can be focused on service learning and in-the-field placements with local worker centers and unions, if students wish. Students will meet with the instructor every other week for individual conferences, depending on the student's needs and the progress of their conference projects. Required texts may include: Strike! by Jeremy Brecher, The Many-Headed Hydra by Peter Linebaugh and Marcus Rediker, An African-American and Latinx History of the United States by Paul Ortiz, The Global City by Saskia Sassen, New Labor in New York by Ruth Milkman and Ed Ott, and Labor Law for the Rank and Filer by Staughton Lynd and Daniel Gross.

In this yearlong seminar course, we will explore the history of the US labor movement from its beginnings in the colonial society of the 1600s to the “globalized” cities of the 2020s. Beginning with the involuntary labor arrangements that structured the continent’s economy from the 1600s to the Civil War, we will focus on the international workers’ movement against slavery: abolitionism. The abolitionist struggle will take us from the first rebellions of involuntary workers to the Civil War and the Reconstruction era. From there, we will consider the strikes, uprisings, and organizations of the late 19th- and 20th-century industrial labor movement, beginning with the Great Upheaval of 1877 and ending with the postindustrial urban uprisings of 1967. We will consider the peak of “big labor” during the mid-20th century, alongside the peak in Cold War-era US imperialism that structured the economy during that time. We will begin the spring semester by thoroughly considering the major structural shifts in the US economy that began in the 1970s, generally referred to as a combination of “globalization” and “neoliberalism.” These shifts degraded job quality and worker power, relegating the working class to service positions in the “global city” structure. In responding to these shifts, we will consider numerous autonomous unions and “worker centers” that have sprung up to address the new issues of this new economy in the past 20 years. We will also focus on broader 21st-century people’s struggles—like the Anti-Globalization Movement, Occupy Wall Street, and Black Lives Matter—and how these movements relate to the ongoing workers’ movement. Requirements for the course include discussion posts, short papers, and a group presentation. For the course’s major project, students will have two options. The first is writing two connected final essays, one for each semester. The second is engaging in a yearlong research project, which can be focused on service learning and in-the-field placements with local worker centers and unions, if students wish. Students will meet with the instructor every other week for individual conferences, depending on the student’s needs and the progress of their conference projects. Required texts may include: Strike! by Jeremy Brecher, The Many-Headed Hydra by Peter Linebaugh and Marcus Rediker, An African-American and Latinx History of the United States by Paul Ortiz, The Global City by Saskia Sassen, New Labor in New York by Ruth Milkman and Ed Ott, and Labor Law for the Rank and Filer by Staughton Lynd and Daniel Gross.

This yearlong seminar course offers a unique perspective on the history of the United States, focusing on the social movements that have significantly influenced this nation and its policies. Despite the consistent dominance of the wealthy ruling class, people’s movements have persistently advanced—and at times achieved—social justice. We will delve into the formation of these movements, their tactics, and their lasting effects, making the course directly relevant to the social issues of today. In the fall, we will begin by focusing on the revolutionary Atlantic uprisings of the 18th century that led up to the revolutionary abolition of slavery throughout much of the Americas, as well as the Federalist counter-revolution that preserved slavery in the United States. Considering how the civil disobedience tradition laid the foundations for democratic currents in the United States will lead us to a people’s understanding of abolitionism, including a focus on the Underground Railroad and the guerrilla warfare that led up to the Civil War. Our second unit will focus on the blossoming of the women’s rights movement and the eventual “progressive” turn in US governance in the early 20th century as a result of a great deal of radical agitation. We’ll finish the semester focusing on the labor movement’s major uprisings and strikes, noting how these movements led up to the New Deal era and the mid-20th century’s social order. The first half of the spring semester will then take up the many people’s movements against this order throughout the 1960s-1970s, including the Civil Rights movement, Black Power, Chicano rights, prisoner’s rights, the LGBTQ movement, the antiwar movement, environmentalism, and second-wave feminism. We’ll then track these movements forward into the following decades, as we consider ACT UP, Earth First!, the LA uprising, the Anti-Globalization movement, and immigrant rights. Finally, we’ll consider people power in the recent decades of the 21st century, including recent movements for economic and racial justice and recent movements against fascism and colonialism. By the end of the year, we’ll have established a comprehensive, comparative understanding of social movements in US history. Requirements for the course include daily participation, discussion posts, and group presentations. For the conference project, the simplest path will be to work on a final research essay for each semester. We can work out other options for those students looking for a different path, including a yearlong major essay, visual projects, or creative work. Major texts may include A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn, The Moral Property of Women: A History of Birth Control Politics in America by Linda Gordon, Poor People’s Movements by Frances Fox Piven and Richard Cloward, Incarcerating the Crisis by Jordan Camp, Power to the Poor: Black-Brown Coalition and the Fight for Economic Justice by Gordon Mantler, and An African-American and Latinx History of the United States by Paul Ortiz.