In this capstone course we’ll read contemporary works of literature about work, supplemented by secondary readings about representations of work in literature and about work in contemporary American culture. Reading to be announced, but it may include novels such as Ed Park's Personal Days, Ling Ma's Severance, Jess Walter's Cold Millions, and Stewart O'Nan's Last Night at the Lobster; short fiction such as Lucia Berlin's "A Manual for Cleaning Women," and David Foster Wallace's "A New Examiner"; poetry such as Phillip Levine's "What Work Is," Bob Hicok's “Calling Him Back from Layoff” and Julia Alvarez's, “New Clothes”; and nonfiction such as Toni Morrison's “The Work You Do, the Person You Are,” Joshua Roiland's "A Shot in the Arm," and Miya Tokumitsu's "In the Name of Love."

As befits a course about work—and a capstone course—we’ll also have a career unit dedicated to thinking about entering the working world as English majors, for which we will be using the book You Majored in What? Designing Your Path from College to Career.