New interfaculty Master’s course ‘Work in the 21st Century’

Do you have a far-reaching interest in the workings of the modern job market and are you going to start your Master’s this coming academic year? Then this new course might be something for you. Starting in September 2020, the Law Faculty, the Nijmegen School of Management and the Faculty of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Sciences are going to offer the interfaculty Master’s course ‘Work in the 21st Century’. In this course, you will examine current changes in the job market from the legal, socioeconomic and ethical perspectives and contemplate how the job market of the future should be given form and content.

More flexibility, more vulnerability

Our work determines a great deal of our life: it influences our welfare, happiness, health and social status. More and more people are now working on a temporary or flexible basis or as a freelancer. Illustrative of this are platform services like Uber and Deliveroo, which only hire people as independent contractors. The shortcomings and vulnerabilities of this way of working have become even more apparent in the corona crisis. Flex workers are hit hardest when the economy worsens. This raises various ethical and scientific questions: what are the social and economic consequences of this new way of working? How should laws and job market institutions adjust to provide an honest and sustainable solution?

Get acquainted with this new course

In this course, you will study the above-mentioned questions from a legal, socioeconomic and philosophical perspective. This will be done via interactive lectures, as well as by working on an actual assignment from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (SZW), a trade union or an employer’s organisation. The course is interesting if you plan to work in an HR management position or a policy or management position on a socioeconomic level. But not only then. The course also offers you the chance to reflect on your own career, since each of you will be entering this modern job market after finishing your studies. The course will be taught by Professor of Labour Law Femke Laagland, Professor of Labour Relations Agnes Akkerman and Assistant Professor of Practical Philosophy Mathijs van de Sande.

Download the flyer for more information (pdf, 1 MB).

Femke Laagland was recently interviewed by VoxWeb about this interfaculty Master’s course: “We speak a completely different scientific language, but we need one another.” Read the full interview here.