An upper level general studies class is hosting a half-day conference to explore the intersection of work and identity.
McCoy Commons (Oaks 212) – Thursday, November 17
10:30 a.m. – 3:45 p.m.
Does work define our identity? Does unemployment? Can we separate our lives from our jobs? Do our jobs encompass real work? After a documentary about unemployment created by Elon University students, Elon professors and community leaders from Alamance County will discuss the meaning of work and the fulfillment that people seek from it.
Organized by the fall 2011 class GST 360: The Meaning of Work, taught by Professor Yoram Lubling, the Unemployment Conference will seek to investigate and understand factors of unemployment. It will also address how society’s perception of work has changed over centuries.
The conference will be held Thursday, Nov. 17, from 10:30 a.m. – 3:45 p.m. in the Oaks 212 with issues to be explored in a philosophical and political manner. Elon faculty, staff, and students are invited to attend this conference throughout the day. It will count as a Cultural Event for General Studies courses. Anyone interested is invited to stay for the entire conference or stop by at their convenience.
Included in the conference will be a short introductory video constructed by students, a lunch break provided by the GST 360 class, a student technology presentation and a panel discussion.
This conference will be a chance for all guests to look into the aspects of unemployment and listen to discussions targeted at fixing a constant pattern in this country. North Carolina currently ranks as having the sixth highest unemployment rate in the nation at 10.4 percent.
A documentary will explore the “meaning of work” and attempt to show how work can be fulfilling and liberating to certain classes of people. In examining present work ethics, we endeavor to question and explore the notion that work (defined in this instance as employment) can be “meaningful and liberating” against barriers that limit the propensity for meaningful work including the misguided purposes for which people are working and limiting factors in society’s structure of the work force, values, and setting.
The student presentation will re-envision the way we think about work, time and value. Can we go beyond the traditional exchange of time and money that has come to define employment? Can we find the divide between identity and occupation? Is it possible to find a deeper, more personal economy than what we see on Wall Street? And what if banks held hours instead of dollars? Elon students attempt to answer these questions and imagine what those answers could mean for their college community.
The conference will end with a panel discussion inclusive of Elon professors as well as other distinguished guests. They include Associate Professor Ken Hassell (Art), Professor James Barbour (Economics), Associate Professor Betty Morgan (Political Science), Assistant Professor Sam Butler (Philosophy), Hillsborough (N.C.) Mayor Tom Stevens and Jordan Wilkinson, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served two tours in Afghanistan.
Panelists will field questions and use specific areas of interest and fields of study to answer questions such as: What does work contribute to our society and to the individual? How can we, as a society, take practical steps to alleviate unemployment? And what issues exist within the welfare system? Following the panel discussion, guests will have the opportunity to meet with these experts with a wide variety of expertise to learn about areas of employment that might interest them, a type of degree they may be interested in pursuing, or just to network with a great group of individuals!
The day’s schedule is as follows:
10:30-10:45 a.m.: Introduction to the Conference
11:00-11:30 a.m.: Documentary Video Begins (Question and Answer following with Documentary Group)
11:30-12:30 p.m.: Lunch Break for All Present
12:30-1:15 p.m.: Technology Presentation
1:30-2 p.m.: Break and Question and Answer Session with Panelists
2-3:30 p.m.: Panelist Session
3:30-3:45 p.m.: Closing