Intro to Worker's History - Online Oct 15 - 29

About this event

Two-week course; complete at your own pace.

What is working-class history, and why does it matter, anyway? Have you ever wondered why and how workers formed the first trade unions? This introductory course will help you see yourself in the past, so you can better understand yourself in the present. You’ll learn how history integrates with activism. Gain access to the traditions and knowledge that inform the struggles of your fellow workers and their unions!

Note: This course will not provide a complete picture of the “jigsaw puzzle of the past.” Rather, it gives you tools and a basic understanding to help you continue your own journey through labour history.

Prerequisite: Introduction to Your Union.

This course is for: Anyone who wants to understand the past through a working-class lens and gain some insights into present-day struggles for democracy.

This course utilizes:

•  Various exercises, like a personal reflection, a mind-map, and an oral history.
•  Videos, primary documents, comics, photos, digital museums, walking tours, and academic articles (to learn how to independently access historical information).
•  Module quizzes and matching exercises help you check your understanding.
•  AUPE’s award-winning animated labour history video series and video interviews with labour historians.

Learning outcomes:

•. Recognize how your life and family stories are affected by history and part of history.
•. Identify what qualifies as working-class history, and how workers’ make it collectively.
•  Apply historical thinking skills to case studies in history.
•. Appreciate the struggles for legitimacy and better life conditions of early labour unionists.
•. Outline the transition from early factories and craft unions to mass production and industrial unions.
•. Describe the expansion of the welfare state and the rise of public sector unions – and the subsequent attack on both.