email: nmarshall@wellesley.edu
Office: Founders 417B
Office hours: M, Th 12noon-2pm, or by appointment.
Distribution: Social and Behavioral Analysis
Pre-requisite: One course in WGST, ECON or SOC, or by permission of the instructor
This course explores the experiences of workers in the changing U.S. workplace. The course will address key issues related to gender, race and class in the workplace, with a focus on: the social organization of work—the nature of work, division of labor, social inequality—and its consequences; and gendered organizations and processes of gender discrimination, including sexual harassment.
Course Philosophy: To support student learning, this course uses “active learning” methods, also known as classroom-based experiential learning. Active learning is student-centered, which means that students take an active role in making connections among facts and ideas from different sources, problem-solving, and reflecting on their own learning. My role is to provide structure to this learning, facilitate discussions and answer questions. I rarely lecture, other than to provide a framework for an activity or discussion. Instead, we will utilize multiple modern instructional approaches, which also help students gain useful career skills, such as reading groups, games, case studies, and discussions.
Course Structure: Most weeks, the class will follow this format: We will begin with reading groups to discuss the assigned readings for the day, followed by whole class discussion. Then we'll do an active learning activity and related discussion. Some weeks, we’ll reverse the order. All classes will end with 10 minutes for a “Connection 10” reflection. I’ll explain all of this in class in more detail.
Course Expectations: Students are expected to complete the assigned readings, as well as their prep for reading groups, prior to the week’s class. During class, students are expected to be engaged in activities and discussions, and to take responsibility for their learning. Expectations for assignments are included with each assignment.
In return, you can expect that I will come to class prepared for the day’s activities and discussions. I am also available outside of class. During office hours, I invite you to come in without an appointment to talk about the course, or about anything else of interest to you. If you can’t come during office hours, email me and we will find a time to talk. Email is the best way to reach me. I regularly check my email most days until 4pm, and then again in the evenings before 10pm. On the weekends, I check my email two to three times during the day.