Field Studies in the Modern Workplace: CFS 393-0 (formerly 393-1&-2): Chicago Field Studies

Field Studies in the Modern Workplace: CFS 393-0 (formerly 393-1&-2)

"The class that accompanies the internship as part of the CFS program has been another great experience. Many of the readings that we discuss in class are interesting, with many of them centered about the history of work and workplace culture. We also learn about each other’s internships and how they’re going, which I always find really helpful and interesting, as it allows me to think about my own internship experience in the context of how the other students’ experiences are." -Luis Ortega, Spring 2017 FSMW intern at CASE

Course Type: 4 credits, during Fall, Winter or Spring. Can be taken for 2, 3 or 4 credits in Summer ONLY.

For Weinberg students who started at Northwestern before Summer 2023, this course will count one credit toward Weinberg Distribution Requirement for Area III: Social and Behavioral Sciences. If Area III distribution requirement has already been met, then Modern Workplace will count one credit toward Area IV: Historical Studies.

For Weinberg students who started at Northwestern in or after Summer 2023 (including transfer students), this course currently does not count toward any Foundational Disciplines or WCAS requirements. For students in other NU schools, please talk with your academic advisor to see if this or other CFS classes count towards any requirements for you.

Course Description

It is often said that we spend roughly a third of our lives at work. If this is true, we as future workers might want to know what we’re in for. Your internship over the next 10 weeks will help you to get a handle on that by actually working. But "actually working" in the context of your internship is in many ways a partial view of what you’re in for. Not all jobs are the same, nor is all work; and work environments change over time, as do their meaning to us as individuals. Paired with your internship, then, the aim of this course is to fill in these gaps. This course is an invitation to engage with the concept and practice of work critically so you can better situate your internship and your work beyond Northwestern. Race and gender are not insignificant in the workplace, but instead inform who gets employed and how one is expected to act at work. Therefore, throughout this course we will raise questions regarding the “identity politics” of work.

Instructors: Nina Wieda, Johana Godfrey, Usdin Martinez, and Amanda Fu

CHICAGO FIELD STUDIES

Field Studies in the Modern Workplace: CFS 393-0 (formerly 393-1&-2)

Course Description

Types of Internships that relate to the Field Studies in the Modern Workplace course: