Work – labor – stands at the very center of the American story. The nation was settled by people looking for work. That was true in the past and it is true today. This class, then, examines work and the meaning of work from Jamestown to the advent of McWorld. How has work changed over time? How have perceptions of laborers shifted over the last 300 hundred years? Students will explore labor-management relations, the organization of work, the experience of ordinary workers, and the lives of different groups of workers – millhands, immigrant farm laborers, clerical workers, and fast food employees. In the end, this course will use primary and secondary sources to provide students with a broad historical and cultural understanding of the nature of work and the American experience.Note: Offered at Temple University Japan only.