Sociology of Work

6 ECTS credits
152 h study time

Offer 2 with catalog number 1018232BEW for working students in the 2nd semester at a (B) Bachelor - advanced level.

Semester

2nd semester

Enrollment based on exam contract

Possible

Grading method

Grading (scale from 0 to 20)

Can retake in second session

Yes

Enrollment Requirements

NOTE: registration for this course is only possible for working students. Day students can register for courses whose code ends with an R. At Inschrijven / studentenadministratie@vub.be you must be registered at the VUB as a working student for the current academic year.

Taught in

Dutch

Faculty

Faculty of Social Sciences & SolvayBusinessSchool

Department

Sociology

Educational team

Christophe Vanroelen
Karen Van Aerden (course titular)

Activities and contact hours

8 contact hours Lecture
144 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study

Course Content

This course offers a broad introduction to the study of labour from a sociological perspective. We describe the labour system based on three arenas: the organisation of work, the labour market and industrial relations.

Themes covered are the following:

A conceptual delineation of the three arenas of the labour system
The historical development of the labour system
The organisation of work: scientific management and new models of work organisation
The labour market: definitions, actors and scientific theories
The periphery of the labour market: flexibilisation and non-standard work
Industrial relations: definitions, actors and scientific theories
Technology and the future of work
Quality of work in Belgium and in Europe
Labour and global capitalism: international division of labour and inequality
Healthy work in a sustainable labour market: blueprint of a model for the future

Course material

Handbook (Required) : De Arena's van het Arbeidsbestel, Inleiding tot de Sociologie van Arbeid en Arbeidsverhoudingen, Vanroelen, C., Henderickx, E. & Pulignano, V., 2de, ACCO, Leuven, 9789464148572, 2023

Additional info

Syllabus (available at the beginning of the semester) is mandatory and contains all learning content.

Slides with the main information from the handbook and relevant additional information for each class are available on Canvas.

A reader with relevant chapters and articles will be made available in pdf on Canvas.

The slides and notes can be amended with background information from the reader.

The course consists of a series of lectures, possibly supplemented by guest lectures on a current theme in the field of work and employment. Both evening and daytime students are expected to master the same course content.

Learning Outcomes

General Competences

The general objective of this course is that students gain a broad introductory overview of basic concepts, the different sub-domains and historical and contemporary discussions in the fields of sociology of work and industrial relations.

This is translated into the following learning goals.

Cognitive skills – The students are acquainted with the sociological study of work as a social activity;
Cognitive skills – The students know the most important actors, institutions and sub-domains of the world of work;
Cognitive skills – The students know the most important theoretical approaches to the sociological study of work, the labour market and industrial relations, including the recent evolutions and contemporary debates;
Cognitive skills – The students understand the most important individual and social consequences of the organisation of work and employment in pre-industrial, industrial and late-industrial societies;
Cognitive skills – The students understand the most important evolutions and conflicts around the organisation of work within employing organisations (meso-level) and within society at large (macro-level);
Cognitive skills – The students understand the underlying causes and explanations or current debates and conflicts in the domain of work and industrial relations;
Cognitive skills – The students can critically apply the theoretical and conceptual framework that has been offered in this course to contemporary issues in the field of work and employment.

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Written Exam determines 100% of the final mark.

Within the Written Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

Schriftelijk Examen with a relative weight of 100 which comprises 100% of the final mark.

Additional info regarding evaluation

Further details on the evaluation procedure will be explained in the course outline. This course outline is posted on the learning platform, Canvas.

Allowed unsatisfactory mark

The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context