CWW214 | Work and Workers in 21st Century India

How does this course relate to the programme curriculum: Does it develop on a prior course in the programme or is it a foundational or standalone course?

This is a stand-alone course, but it will speak to some of the issues that are raised in Political science and Sociology courses being taught at the NLSIU.

Describe how you have approached the course. What have you included/excluded and why? Choice of materials: primary or secondary readings / case law;

The course will draw on a political economy framework. Introductory sessions will acquaint students with debates on globalization/liberalization, trends of privatization, automation, de industrialization, highlighting particularly precarious and informal work. We will then cover the political economy of liberalization/globalization in India, decline of manufacturing sector jobs, global supply chains, migration and informal work in order to contextualize changes in the structure of employment in industry. Important areas of focus will be contractualization, informalization, home-based work, service work, new trade unions, as well as changes in labour laws and the state’s regulatory framework. Case studies of working conditions and wages in particular industries, both old and new, such as construction, apparels exports, service work, will be discussed. Some sessions will be devoted to looking at the interlinkages between gender, caste and labour. Finally, we will examine the dynamics of collective action, class and social reproduction theories in order to provide conceptual and theoretical lenses to the material covered in the course. We will not be looking at legal cases per se, but will include particular cases which may be relevant to understanding management-worker conflicts. The course will use material and discussions on work and workers as a lens to examine changes in capital, both domestic and global.

Describe your pedagogical approach: lectures, Socratic discussion, seminar style discussion, response papers or group work,

Classes will be a combination of lectures and seminar style discussions. I will introduce the topic and the readings in the first half. In the second half a student (or a group of students) will present a reading and lead the discussion on the reading.

Describe the layout of the course: module structure and sequence.

The course will be conducted on the basis of sessions, organized logically and will follow a historical pattern of study. Presentations and discussions in class will be a major source of learning and evaluation.

There will be a final exam.