Labor means struggle (except when it doesn’t)
The root word for labor might have meant “to slip and stumble under a heavy burden.” What effect does this association between useful activity and pain have on how things are organized?
work
The History of Work — A New Class
This semester (Spring 2021) I’m teaching a new class about the history of work. We’re asking: If making, doing, and caring are fundamental human activities that fulfill basic human needs, why are so many jobs miserable? We’ll also be thinking about how thing could be made better.