Watch and learn! Carefully selected videos will help bring key concepts and theories to life, preparing you for your studies and exams.

Click on the following links which will open in a new window.

1. U.S. Labor History

The U.S. labor history is a history of class conflict. There are many websites that provide in-depth information on the labor movement (e.g. http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~natalieb/laborhis.htm). Explore these websites to learn more about this history. What events strike you as interesting or surprising? For students interested in further research on the topic, you may want to access this resource guide meant for undergraduates http://www.wiu.edu/users/mma108/resourceguide.html.

2. Union Participation in the U.S.

To view recent trends in union participation, visit these sites: http://www.cepr.net/content/view/1441/220/ and http://www.unionstats.com/. What are the most recent trends in union participation? What do you think will happen to union participation in the future and what impacts will this have for inequality in the U.S.? Union participation also varies dramatically by sector, demographic characteristics, and between government and private sector workers. Information about union members can be found here: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/union2.pdf. What social groups are most and least likely to be unionized?

If you’re interested in reading primary source material, here is a link to Marx and Engel’s book Das Capital, translated into English. Reading primary sources gives you the opportunity to learn what scholars were saying in their own words. In the search box on the left-hand side of the window, you can put particular terms to search for. Chapter 9 discusses the idea of class consciousness. Try searching for that term and see what Marx said. Does it help you better understand this concept?