Fieldnotes - Changing relations of work
- Due Apr 29, 2023 by 11:59pm
- Points 10
- Submitting a text entry box
This week we hope you'll consider some of the ways the new "gig economy" and the ability to work remotely might be changing your internship field.
1. Read and reflect on a scholarly article
Here are this week's scholarly articles, on the topic of changing relations in the professional workplace -- choose one to read:
- Alex Rosenblat, “Driving as glamorous labor” in Uberland: How Algorithms are Rewriting the Rules of Work (Univ. of California Press, 2018) Download Alex Rosenblat, “Driving as glamorous labor” in Uberland: How Algorithms are Rewriting the Rules of Work (Univ. of California Press, 2018).
- Cal Newport, “Can remote work be fixed?” The New Yorker (May 26, 2020) Download Cal Newport, “Can remote work be fixed?” The New Yorker (May 26, 2020).
- Harrington, B. (2017). The millennials Download The millennials. In M. A. Pagano (Ed.), Jobs and the labor force of tomorrow: Migration, training, education.
Once you have read this article, think about how it connects to your work so far at your internship. Go back to the Discussions page and click on the title of your discussion to view it (you can just click directly on your name). At the bottom of your discussion introduction, click the long rectangle with the word "<- Reply" in it to open up a new editing window. For ease of reading, first type "Article reactions:" in bold, followed by the name of the article you chose.
Now compose your reactions to the article. The most useful reactions are grounded in specifics -- pick particular arguments or quotes from the article that seem to connect to other things you've learned in your UW courses, or activities you've been engaged with during your internship. It can help to briefly summarize the arguments of the article before providing a reaction. Try to write at least two paragraphs in response to the scholarly article you chose.
2. Enter field notes for this week
Go back to the Discussions page and click on the title of your discussion to view it (you can just click directly on your name). At the bottom of your discussion introduction there is a long rectangle with the word "<- Reply" in it. Click on this rectangle and you will open up another little editing window where you can type in your field notes entry.
For ease of reading, first type "Field notes: Week of " in bold, and then type today's date. Then try to write at least four substantive paragraphs, about your experiences in your internship this week. The more you are able to write each week, the better your reflections will evolve over the course of the term -- and the more raw material you will have for the summary reflection at the end. And if you can relate your field notes this week to your article reaction for this week, all the better! When you have finished typing in your field notes, click the red "Post Reply" button on the bottom-right of this editing window.
What if your internship doesn't meet this week? Like with previous weeks, if for any reason you don't have any internship field notes to enter, you still need to write a detailed reflection related to your internship -- you may reflect on one of the scholarly articles we've suggested in these assignments, or on a relevant news article from your chosen news source that is related to your internship, or on an issue that you raised in a previous week's field notes that you'd like to reflect upon more deeply now. You might even reflect upon a fellow student's internship experience that you've read about in this class, thinking through how it compares to your own so far.
3. Upload your field notes in this Canvas assignment to alert your TA
Once you've posted your field notes to your Discussions board, you must then copy them and paste them into the text box for this assignment, to submit them through the Canvas grading system and get credit for this assignment by the due date.
4. Comment and collaboration
Finally, just like last week, go back to the Discussions page and click on some other student's discussion thread. Choose one of their article response or field note entries, and click the "<- Reply" box to reply to what the student wrote. (Try to leave at least a paragraph-long substantive reaction, not just "Hey that sounds great.") When you have finished typing in your comment, click the red "Post Reply" button on the bottom-right of the editing window.
Now do this again for a different classmate, so you make sure to leave comments for at least two fellow students in your section each week.