The Global History of Work: Critical Readings

05 May 2019 - 19:39

The Global History of Work: Critical Readings provides an extensive reference collection which is essential for all students and scholars needing to gain a critical understanding of work and the history of work.

By Marcel van der Linden. (ed.)

Collating scholarly historical texts on the subject from the last 50 years and beyond from a wide range of sources, this four-volume set offers a key knowledge resource for the field. The set brings together around 60 essays and papers - from the field-shaping pieces published in the 1970s through to the landmark texts of the recent past and present - and thematically arranges in a way that highlights the crucial topics of discussion and debate in this area of study. The set obviously has a global scope and provides valuable insights into how the field was formed, how it has developed and how it will be studied in the years to come.

The Global History of Work: Critical Readings
IISG

Each volume includes a substantial contextualizing introduction surveying the development of the field. The Global History of Work: Critical Readings is a major scholarly reference work for all researchers interested in the history of work.

The four volumes explore the global history of work from multiple disciplinary angles, combining contributions from social and economic history, anthropology, sociology, geography and labour economics. While until a few decades ago the history of work mainly concerned the history of wagedwork, in recent years the field has expanded considerably, and now covers the work of chattel slaves, housewives, policemen and numerous other groups as well. The four volumes reflect this trend, and give a coherent overview of important topical contributions that have been published in the English language. The period to be covered ranges from the 17thcentury to the present, though excursions into earlier periods are possible if these help to understand present-day issues.

Volume 1 
Explores core concepts to do with work and work history and examines definitions, perceptions and the 'making of workers'.
Volume 2 
Focuses on work sites, with an emphasis on locations, migrations and households.
Volume 3 
Considers labour markets and includes material on unemployment, gender and ethnicity, sociability/social networks and recent trends.
Volume 4 
Covers collective action and the importance of the politics of labour, unions and forms of resistance.