LABOUR STUDIES

The major educational undertaking of the SDLC is support for the Labour Studies Program at Laurentian University. Members of the Labour Council serve on the Advisory Committee of the Program and the Labour Council funds two scholarships for students enrolled in Labour Studies.

PROGRAM OPTIONS

As a multidisciplinary program, Labour  Studies (LBST) offers its own courses as well as cross-credited courses in other units.  These courses can lead to one of three English-language program options:

- B.A. in Labour Studies

  (4-year) Single Specialization

- B.A. in Labour Studies

  (4-year) Combined Specialization

- Certificate in Labour Studies

  (one-year)

Program Goals

            Labour Studies at Laurentian University, the only program of its kind in Northern Ontario, is dedicated to developing a critical understanding of the social importance and organization of work, the evolution of workers' social and legal rights and the development of worker organization, and contemporary issues of concern to both blue-collar and white/pink-collar workers and their families.  The program also aims to prepare students for employment in areas such as labour organizations, government service, journalism, social work, law, teaching or human resource administration. 

            In keeping with Laurentian University's commitment to collaborative outreach programs, the Labour  Studies program works in cooperation with the Sudbury and District Labour Council and its affiliates and seeks to make university education more accessible and pertinent to working people.  The LBST program supports community involvement and education by providing students real-life learning experiences through field placements with various Sudbury organizations. 

            The program pays special attention to the past, present, and future role of labour and the union movement in Northern Ontario, from mining and forestry and railways to construction, utilities, retail services, health care, education, and government services.  It seeks to stimulate and support research and serious discussion of issues of concern to working people in the region.  In an effort to improve accessibility and equity in the educational system, the Labour Studies program supports lifelong learning and the recognition of working people's informal knowledge.

            The scope of Labour  Studies includes the conditions of unorganized as well as organized workers, and the poor and sections of the working population marginalized by race, gender, national background, sexual orientation, age, or disability.  In this sense, the program takes as its starting point the concerns and issues of the working class in its broadest sense as well as the particular conditions and issues of groups within the working class.