Labor Studies Department retooling curriculum to meet diverse student needs and interests

From its earliest days as an extension program catering to union workers and adult learners, Indiana University’s Labor Studies Department has been a leader in labor education for more than 60 years. Today, the department attracts students from diverse backgrounds and covers topics that include organized labor, labor and social movements, the impact of global markets, and changing institutions. IU’s Labor Studies Department in the IU School of Social Work is the only completely online labor studies program in the nation.

“Our department originally attracted workers in the labor community, many that were union members, who wanted to learn the legal aspects of labor and management relations, such as collective bargaining, contract interpretation and arbitration,” said Marquita Walker, Ph.D., interim chair and associate professor of Labor Studies. “We offer a group of ‘tools courses’ to help workers learn the key legal fundamentals needed for leadership in local labor unions, which are seeing a resurgence in membership.”

More recently, traditional students from a variety of majors have opted to take labor studies courses as electives or add labor studies as a minor to complement a liberal arts education.

“Students with a broad interest in social justice are also choosing our courses, and in that vein, we see ourselves as similar to women’s studies, African-American studies and other interdisciplinary programs and courses that have developed in the past 20 to 30 years,” said Paul Mishler, Ph.D., associate professor, who has taught labor studies courses on the South Bend campus for nearly two decades. “We are attracting students who aren’t factory workers who have a desire to learn about income inequality and other social and economic justice issues.”

Walker added that students in the business school also minor in labor studies to gain a different perspective of management and labor relations.

Learn more and apply to our Labor Studies Programs at IU Online

To maximize interest and increase enrollment among these two groups of potential students—non-traditional and traditional students in other academic disciplines—the IU Labor Studies Department recently completed a market analysis to help guide recruitment efforts and curriculum development.

“As we restructure our curriculum, we’re looking at two concentrations,” Walker said. “For both union members and students with an interest in our subject matter, we’re striving to provide the most robust, fully accredited online curriculum in both labor education and liberal arts.”

The Labor Studies program is taught by seven experienced faculty members on eight campuses. Referring to the faculty as the backbone of IU’s department, Walker said all have had experience in the labor movement prior to teaching. Some are historians, and others have backgrounds in economics, anthropology and other disciplines.

“Without a doubt, our faculty is a key strength of our program,” she said. “They know so much about organized labor and its history.”