Outline

Overview

Technological disruption, demographic change, globalisation and economic transformation are having a profound impact on the quantity and quality of jobs, how and by whom work is undertaken as well as the distribution of income and well-being. Such changes make the future of work challenging for all societies in the 21st Century. This project unit offers students the opportunity to explore the historical, contemporary and potential future(s) of the role of 'work' in the national and international context. Students will engage in primary and secondary research, with research experts within and external to the University, and apply social science expertise to contemporary public debate.

Unit details and rules

Unit code	SSPS4111
Academic unit	Social and Political Sciences
Credit points	12
Prohibitions ?	None
Prerequisites ?	ANTH3998 or ANTH3999 or CRIM3998 or CRIM3999 or ECOP3998 or ECOP3999 or GOVT3898 or GOVT3900 or SCLG3998 or SCLG3999 or SLSS3998 or SLSS3999
Corequisites ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	36 credits points towards a major in a relevant subject area in the social sciences or humanities
Available to study abroad and exchange students	No

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Salvatore Babones, salvatore.babones@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Assignment	Group Final Written Report Future of work final report	20%	Formal exam period	(8000-10,000 group words / 20% of grade)
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Individual Literature Review Informal literature review notes (citations and short summaries)	20%	Please select a valid week from the list below	(2500 words / 20% of grade)
Outcomes assessed:
Online task	Individual Quiz 1 Readings quiz	5%	Week 02	(500 words / 5% of grade)
Outcomes assessed:
Small continuous assessment	Individual Research Reflection Exercise 1 Individual reflection on progress of group research project	7.5%	Week 05	(1000 words equivalent / 7.5% of grade)
Outcomes assessed:
Online task	Individual Quiz 2 Readings quiz	5%	Week 06	(500 words / 5% of grade)
Outcomes assessed:
Online task	Individual Quiz 3 Readings quiz	5%	Week 09	(500 words / 5% of grade)
Outcomes assessed:
Small continuous assessment	Individual Research Reflection Exercise 2 Individual reflection on progress of group research project	7.5%	Week 11	(1000 words equivalent / 7.5% of grade)
Outcomes assessed:
Presentation	Group Final Formal Presentation / Group Overall Coordination Mark Overall group mark reflecting group-level coordination and integration	10%	Week 13	(5000 group word equiv. / 10% of grade)
Outcomes assessed:
Presentation	Group Final Formal Presentation / Individual Section Responsibility Mark Assessment of individual portion of group presentation	20%	Week 13	(2500 word equivalent / 20% of grade)
Outcomes assessed:
= hurdle task ? = group assignment ?

Assessment summary

Interim assessments (includes 6000 words equivalent of individual assessments)

Week 2 -- Individual Quiz 1 (500 words / 5% of grade)

Week 5 -- Individual Research Reflection Exercise 1 (1000 words equivalent / 7.5% of grade)

Week 6 -- Individual Quiz 2 (500 words / 5% of grade)

Week 7 -- Individual Literature Review (2500 words / 20% of grade)

Week 9 -- Individual Quiz 3 (500 words / 5% of grade)

Week 11 -- Individual Research Reflection Exercise 2 (1000 words equivalent / 7.5% of grade)

Group Research Project (includes a mix of group and individual work totaling the equivalent of 6000 individual words per student / 50% of grade):

Week 13 -- Group Final Formal Presentation / Group Overall Coordination Mark (5000 group word equivalent / 10% of grade)

Week 13 -- Group Final Formal Presentation / Individual Section Responsibility Mark (2500 word equivalent / 20% of grade)

Exam Period -- Group Final Written Report (8000-10,000 group words / 20% of grade)

Assessment criteria

Result code	Result name	Mark range	Description
HD	High Distinction	85-100	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at an exceptional standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
D	Distinction	75-84	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at a very high standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
C	Credit	65-74	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at a good standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
P	Pass	50-64	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at an acceptable standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
F	Fail	0-49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.
AF	Absent Fail	0-49	When you haven’t completed all assessment tasks or met the attendance requirements.
CN	Cancelled	No mark	When your enrolment has been cancelled.

For more information see: https://www.sydney.edu.au/students/guide-to-grades.html

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

Assessed as per faculty/university policy.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

You may only use artificial intelligence and writing assistance tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator, and if you do use them, you must also acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section.

Studiosity is permitted for postgraduate units unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Head work and heart work - thinking about the skills of the future	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 01	Team-based data challenge	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 02	The spirit of capitalism and the role of critique	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 02	Think tank, NGO, and consultancy research	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 03	Management discourse in the 1990s	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 03	Functional project team research	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 04	1968: Crisis and revival of capitalism and the force of critique	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 04	Functional project team research	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 05	Dismantling the world of work and undermining the defences of the world of work	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 05	Reflection exercises during team break-out sessions	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 06	The rise of precarious work and the gig economy	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 06	Functional literature sharing activity	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 07	Ambiguities of the employment contract and the rise, fall, and persistence of standard employment	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 07	Final project team formation and planning session	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 08	The changing shape of precariousness and new approaches to employment security	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 08	Final project team research sessions	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 09	Megatrands, globalization, financialization, and the future	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 09	Final project team research sessions	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 10	Digitalization, management culture, control, and flexible employment	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 10	Final project team research sessions	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 11	Worker voice, gender segmentation, and regulation	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 11	Reflection exercises during team break-out sessions	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 12	The future of the professions and the jobs of tomorrow	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 12	Final project team presentation rehearsals	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 13	Additional topics	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 13	Final project team presentations	Workshop (2 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance in both seminars and workshops is required for this unit, in line with university expectations:

“Students are expected to attend a minimum of 90 per cent of timetabled activities for a unit of study, unless granted exemption by the Associate Dean or relevant delegated authority. The Associate Dean or relevant delegated authority may determine that a student fails a unit of study because of inadequate attendance. Alternatively, at their discretion, they may set additional assessment items when attendance is lower than 90 per cent.”

https://www.sydney.edu.au/handbooks/archive/2020/arts_PG/rules/faculty_resolutions.shtml.html

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 12 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 240-300 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Major readings:

Week 1 -- Deloitte Insights (2019), full report

Week 2 -- Boltanski & Chiapello (2018), Preface to English Edition (pp. ix-xxvii); Prologue (pp. xxxvi-xivii); General Introduction (pp. 1-53)

Week 3 -- Boltanski & Chiapello (2018), Chapter 1 (pp. 57-101)

Week 4 -- Boltanski & Chiapello (2018), Chapter 3 (pp. 167-215); Conclusion (pp. 483-492)

Week 5 -- Boltanski & Chiapello (2018), Chapter 4 (pp. 217-272); Chapter 5 (pp. 273-313)

Week 6 -- Crouch (2019), Chapter 1; Freudenstein & Duane (2020), full report

Week 7 -- Crouch (2019), Chapters 2-3

Week 8 -- Crouch (2019), Chapters 4-5

Week 9 -- Peetz (2019), Chapters 1-3

Week 10 -- Peetz (2019), Chapters 4-6

Week 11 -- Peetz (2019), Chapters 7-8 and 10

Week 12 -- Suskind & Suskind (2018), full paper; Ratcheva et al (2020), full report

Week 13 -- TBA

====================================

Boltanski, Luc, and Eve Chiapello. 2018. The New Spirit of Capitalism. London: Verso.

Crouch, Colin. 2019. Will the Gig Economy Prevail? Cambridge: Polity.

Deloitte Insights. 2019. The Path to Prosperity: Why the Future of Work Is Human. Sydney: Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.

Freudenstein, Donald and Becca Duane. 2020. The Rise of the Gig Economy and its Impact on the Australian Workforce. Sydney: Institute of Actuaries of Australia.

Peetz, David. 2019. The Realities and Futures of Work. Canberra: ANU Press.

Suskind, Daniel, and Richard Suskind. 2018. "The Future of the Professions." Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 162(2): 125-138.

Ratcheva, Vesselina, Till Alexander Leopold, and Saadia Zahidi. 2020. Jobs of Tomorrow: Mapping Opportunity in the New Economy. Geneva: World Economic Forum.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. apply core concepts, approaches and analytical tools available to social scientists to an issue of public importance.
LO2. demonstrate an awareness of the cultural, political, social and economic contexts and variance in the role that ‘work’ has played across time and in national and international contexts.
LO3. demonstrate a capacity to undertake primary and secondary research through analysis of domestic and international data on labour markets and collection of new data on the experience of work and employment.
LO4. translate empirical and theoretical scholarship into public debate.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

The unit has undergone a major revision and COVID update. The coordinator has not had access to the previous year's feedback.

Additional information

Additional costs

Students must purchase two books for this unit: https://www.versobooks.com/books/2513-the-new-spirit-of-capitalism (minimum price: £12.00 e-book) https://politybooks.com/bookdetail/?isbn=9781509532438&subject_id=89 (minimum price: $16.99 e-book)

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Additional costs

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

SSPS4111: The Future of Work

Semester 2, 2021 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Additional costs

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect