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Sociology of Labour Markets


Semesterangivelse: Forårs kursus

 


Udgave: Forår 2013 Samf
ECTS points: 10 ECTS
Punkter: 10 ECTS

Semester:

Spring 2013
Institutter: Sociologi
Studieordning: MA-2005
Uddannelsesdel: Kandidat niveau
Kontaktpersoner: Torsten Geelan
Ph.D stipendiat fra Cambridge University
i England og gæste-Ph.D på FAOS.
Skema- oplysninger:  Vis skema for kurset
Samlet oversigt over tid og sted for alle kurser inden for Lektionsplan for Det Samfundsvidenskabelige Fakultet Forår 2013 Samf
Formål: This course caters to students who are interested in societal transformations within the advanced economies of contemporary capitalism. Seeing through the lens of the labour market, students will learn to think critically about the forces driving and constraining change, and our agency as actors to influence these developments within the context of the current economic crisis.
Indhold: The course begins by situating the origins of the labour market theoretically and historically through the work of classical and contemporary sociologists. The role of the state, employers and trade unions in its development and maintenance are considered within this literature. Focusing on present society, the course then explores the extent to which a 'new capitalism'of increased recariousness for labour (e.g. job insecurity, unemployment, and atypical employment) has emerged. This includes an examination of comparative empirical data on employment patterns, changes in welfare benefits, and job stability in Europe and North America. The importance of globalisation and technological advances as drivers of these changes are also discussed.

Is the increasing precariousness of employment a natural consequence of our fast-changing world or are insecurities manufactured, emanating from neoliberal policy and the greater exposure of the economy to market forces? To stimulate debate on this question the course critically evaluates the effect of neoliberal labour market policies (e.g. 'flexibility' and workfare) on workers in Denmark and Great Britain. The politically contested nature of these policies reveals neoliberalism as an ongoing process of transformation produced within national, regional and local contexts defined by the legacies of inherited institutional frameworks, policy regimes, regulatory practices and political struggles. An assessment of the current economic crisis and labour market reforms then provides a contemporary perspective on how this institutional embeddedness mediates the impact of these changes in practice. Finally, the course explores the nature and extent of trade union resistance to labour market reforms at a time of crisis with particular attention given to communicative forms of action.

Preliminary Outline for Syllabus:
Introduction

Theorizing the labour market

Determinants of labour market change

New capitalism and the precariousness of labour

Neoliberalism and labour market policy

The economic crisis and labour market reforms

Trade unions and 21st century resistance

Lærebøger: Reading
Baccaro, L., & Boyer, R., Crouch, C., Regini, M., Marginson, P., Hyman, R. et al. (2010). "DISCUSSION FORUM I: Labour and the global financial crisis," Socio-Economic Review, 1–37.
Barbier, J-C. (2004) A comparative analysis of employment precariousness in Europe. www.ceerecherche.fr/fr/fiches_chercheurs/texte_pdf/barbier/BarbierEmpPrecFeb2004.pdf
Bourdieu, P. (2003) Firing Back Against the Tyranny of the Market 2, New York: Verso.
Brenner, Neil., and Theodore, Nik (2002) Cities and the Geographies of 'Actually Existing Neoliberalism", Antipode, 34: 349–379.
Burchell, B. J. et al. (1999) Job Insecurity and Work Intensification; Flexibility and the Changing Boundaries of Work, York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Coe, Neil., and Jordhus-Lier, David. (2011) "Constrained Agency? Re-evaluating the Geographies of Labour", Progress in Human Geography, 35 (2): 211-233.
Deakin, S., and Reed, H. (2000) River Crossing or Cold Bath? Deregulation and Employment in Britain in the 1980s and 1990s, in Esping-Andersen, G., and Regini, M. Why Deregulate Labour Markets? Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Dale, Gareth. (2012) "Double movements and the pendular forces: Polanyian perspectives on the neoliberal age", Current Sociology, 60 (1): 3-27.
Doogan, Kevin. (2009) New Capitalism? The Transformation of Work, Cambridge: Polity Press.
Etherington, David and Martin Jones. (2004) "Welfare-through-work and the re-regulation of labour markets in Denmark, Capital and Class, 28 (2): 19-45.
Green-Pedersen, Christopher., Kersbergen, Kees Van., and Hemerijck, Anton. (2001) "Neoliberalism, the 'third way' or what? Recent social democratic welfare policies in Denmark and the Netherlands", Journal of European Public Policy, 8:2: 307–325.
Gregor, Gall., Wilkinson, Adrian., and Hurd, Richard. (2012) The International Handbook of Labour Unions: Responses to Neo-Liberalism, Edward Elgar Publishing Limited:Cheltenham.
Harvey, D. (2005) A Brief History of Neo-Liberalism, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kalleberg, A. (2000) "Nonstandard employment relations: part-time, temporary, and contract work", Annual Review of Sociology, 26: 341-65.
Kitson, Michael et al. (2011) " The Geographies of Austerity", Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 4: 289-302.
King, Lawrence et al. (2012) "Making the same mistake again - or is this time different?", Cambridge Journal of Economics, 36: 1-15.
Korpi, Walter., Palme, Joakim. (2003) "New Politics and Class Politics in the Context of Austerity and Globalization: Welfare State Regress in 18 Countries, 1975-95", American Political Science Review, 97 (3): 425: 446.
Lazzarato, Maurizio. (2009) "Neoliberalism in Action: nequality, Insecurity and the Reconstitution of the Social", Theory Culture & Society, 26 (6): 109- 133.
Mudge, Stephanie. (2008) "What is neoliberalism?", Socio-economic Review, 6: 703 - 731.
OECD (1997): Is job insecurity on the increase in OECD countries? Employment Outlook, Paris, OECD.
Peck, J. (2001) Workfare States, New York: The Guildford Press. Polanyi, Karl. (1957) The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time, Boston: Beacon Press.
Streeck, Wolfgang. (2005) “The Sociology of Labour Markets and Trade Unions,” in Streeck, W., and Swedberg, R. (eds.) The Handbook of Economic Sociology, Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Swank, D. (2005) "Globalization, Domestic Politics and welfare State Retrenchment in Capitalist Democracies", Social Policy and Society, 4 (2): 183-95.
Tilly, C. (1994) Capitalist work and labour markets in Smelser, N. J. and Swedburg, R. (eds)The Handbook of Economic Sociology, Princeton: New Jersey Press, pp. 283-312.
Vis, Barbara et al. (2011) "To What Extent Did the Financial Crisis Intensify Pressure to Reform the Welfare State?", Social Policy and administration, 45 (4): 338-353.
Tilmelding:
Please note: Signing up for courses and exams takes place in the period from November 15 - December 1, 2012. When you sign up for courses you are automatically signed up for exam.

International students must sign up by filling in an application form which you find here: http://sociologi.ku.dk/english/courses/
Eksamensform:
After enrolment for exam you have to check your type of examination using the Self Service at www.kunet.dk. At the Self Service you can change the type of examination if necessary. For further information please go to: http://sociologi.ku.dk/english/courses/

Types of examination:

• Oral exam based upon a synopsis

Assessment: 7-point scale
Individual
An oral exam based upon a topic chosen by the individual student
Size: A synopsis of maximum 3 pages of 2400 characters. The synopsis may be handed in as a group. However, the oral exam is on individual basis. The synopsis itself is meant as a discussion paper and does not enter into the assessment

• Free written take-home essay

Assessment: 7-point scale
Individual or group
Internal examiner

Size: A Free written take-home essay of maximum 15 pages of 2400 characters each page (incl. spaces). If written by a group, the essay may be 50 % of 2400 characters each page longer per additional student.
Attention: When handing in as a group, the contribution of each student must be pointed out

Handing in of papers:

Deadline for handing in essay/synopsis

12.00 o’clock in the secretariat (16.1.26) - please click on the link below, to see the submission dates.

Deadline for aflevering af skriftlige opgaver/handing in papers


Kursus hjemmeside:
Undervisnings- sprog: Kun engelsk
Sidst redigeret: 19/3-2013



Københavns Universitet