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

Academic unit	Social and Political Sciences
Credit points	12
Prerequisites ?	144 credit points and (FASS3999 or FASS3333 or equivalent)
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	Successful completion of a Table A major from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Available to study abroad and exchange students	No

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Craig Browne, craig.browne@sydney.edu.au

Assessment

The census date for this unit availability is 31 August 2026

Details
Criteria

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length	Use of AI
Research analysis	Group Final Written Report Future of work final group report	40%	Formal exam period Due date: 16 Nov 2026 at 23:59 Closing date: 16 Nov 2026	4,000 words	AI allowed
Outcomes assessed:
Portfolio or journal	Reading Summaries and Reading Tasks Reading summaries and equivalent tasks, short-answer questions	10%	Multiple weeks	10 entries of 300 words equivalent each	AI allowed
Outcomes assessed:
Research analysis	Analysis of Report Evaluation of a report document	5%	Week 06 Due date: 09 Sep 2026 at 23:59 Closing date: 09 Sep 2026	500 words	AI allowed
Outcomes assessed:
Research analysis	Annotated Bibliography Informal literature review notes (citations and short summaries)	20%	Week 08 Due date: 24 Sep 2026 at 23:59 Closing date: 24 Sep 2026	3,000 words	AI allowed
Outcomes assessed:
In-person written or creative task	Critical Analysis Quiz 3x 300-word and 1x 600-word answers	25%	Week 13 Due date: 02 Nov 2026 at 18:00	1,500 words	AI prohibited
Outcomes assessed:
= hurdle task ? = group assignment ?

Assessment summary

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

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 guide to grades.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI)

You can use generative AI tools for open assessments. Restrictions on AI use apply to secure, supervised assessments used to confirm if students have met specific learning outcomes.

Refer to the assessment table above to see if AI is allowed, for assessments in this unit and check Canvas for full instructions on assessment tasks and AI use.

If you use AI, you must always acknowledge it. Misusing AI may lead to a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy.

Visit the Current Students website for more information on AI in assessments, including details on how to acknowledge its use.

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.

Academic integrity

The University expects students to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

Our website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. This includes advice on how to avoid common breaches of academic integrity. Ensure that you have completed the Academic Honesty Education Module (AHEM) which is mandatory for all commencing coursework students

Penalties for serious breaches can significantly impact your studies and your career after graduation. It is important that you speak with your unit coordinator if you need help with completing assessments.

Visit the Current Students website for more information on AI in assessments, including details on how to acknowledge its use.

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.

Support for students

The Support for Students Policy reflects the University’s commitment to supporting students in their academic journey and making the University safe for students. It is important that you read and understand this policy so that you are familiar with the range of support services available to you and understand how to engage with them.

The University uses email as its primary source of communication with students who need support under the Support for Students Policy. Make sure you check your University email regularly and respond to any communications received from the University.

Learning resources and detailed information about weekly assessment and learning activities can be accessed via Canvas. It is essential that you visit your unit of study Canvas site to ensure you are up to date with all of your tasks.

If you are having difficulties completing your studies, or are feeling unsure about your progress, we are here to help. You can access the support services offered by the University at any time:

Support and Services (including health and wellbeing services, financial support and learning support)
Course planning and administration
Meet with an Academic Adviser

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Introduction - Welcome to the Future of Work	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 02	Approaching the Future - Theories and Explanations of Social Change	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 02	Introduction: Workshop Tasks and Group Organization; Team-based data challenge	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 03	Work and Identity	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 03	Reports Overview – Groups, Analysis and Writing; Report Analysis - Think tank, NGO, Consultancy, Royal Commission, etc Research and Reports	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 04	New Spirit of Capitalism: From Standardized Production to Project Regime	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 04	Careers: Consultancy; Functional project team research	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 05	Migrant Labour and Global Exploitation	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 05	Report Analysis – Preparing and Learning; Functional literature sharing activity	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 06	Alienation and/or Creative Labour	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 06	Report Analysis Presentation - Team-based research	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 07	The Future of 'Feminised Work': Welfare, Domestic and Care Labour	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 07	Careers - Future of Professions	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 08	The Gig Economy and Precarious Work	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 08	Team research sessions - Data Collection, Research Report Investigation	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 09	Labour Day Public Holiday	Self-directed learning (4 hr)
Week 10	The Capitalist Imaginary	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 10	Literature Review Sharing - Team research	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 11	The Dialectic of Control	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 11	Team research; Jobs of Tomorrow – Theory and Practice; Report Development	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 12	The Democratisation of Work and the Project of Autonomy	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 12	Team research projects - Research Report Reviews	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 13	Critical Analysis Quiz	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 13	Research Report Presentations - Final project team research	Workshop (2 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance at both lectures 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.”

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

A list of weekly required and related readings will be provided on Canvas.

Below are some indicative and background readings - some of these will be the set readings but others are simply informative.

You can read some of the work by the unit coordinator:

Browne, C (2015) ‘Change is Central to Sociology’, in G. Bammer (ed) Change!: Combining Analytical Approaches with Street Wisdom, Canberra, ANU Press pp. 55-80

Browne, C (2019) ‘Luc Boltanski’ in G. Ritzer and C. Rojek (ed) Wiley Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Sociology, 2nd Edition. Blackwell, London.

Browne, C (2005) 'Castoriadis on the the Capitalist Imaginary', Modern Greek Studies (Australia and New Zealand) 13: 282-298.

Browne, C (2016) ‘Critiques of Identity and the Permutations of the Capitalist Imaginary’, Social Imaginaries, Vol. 2, No. 1: 95-118

Browne, C. & Susen, S. (2014) ‘Austerity and its Antitheses: Practical Negations of Capitalist Legitimacy’, South Atlantic Quarterly 113. 2: 117-130

Browne, C. (2020) ‘The Antinomies of the Modern Imaginary and the Double Dialectic of Control’, Thesis Eleven, 161(1): 51-75.

Browne, C. (2017) Critical Social Theory London, Sage. - Chapter 2 on Alienation

Deloitte Insights (2019), full report

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

Boltanski & Chiapello (2018), Chapter 1 (pp. 57-101)Boltanski & Chiapello (2018), Chapter 3 (pp. 167-215); Conclusion (pp. 483-492)

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

WCrouch (2019), Chapter 1; Freudenstein & Duane (2020), full report

Crouch (2019), Chapters 2-3

Crouch (2019), Chapters 4-5

Peetz (2019), Chapters 1-3

Peetz (2019) Chapters 7-8 and 10

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

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

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 benefited from the feedback on the previous curriculum and teaching of the unit of study. This has influenced the sequence of topics, the assessment activities, and the percentage breakdown. Links between the seminars and workshops have been consolidated and connections to career planning enhanced.

Disclaimer

Important: the University of Sydney regularly reviews units of study and reserves the right to change the units of study available annually. To stay up to date on available study options, including unit of study details and availability, refer to the relevant handbook.

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

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI)

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

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

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

SSPS4111: The Future of Work

Semester 2, 2026 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI)

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

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

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links