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Bodies at Work: Contemporary Geographies of Labour and Identity

Module description

This module looks at geographies of work, through the lens of the body. We will look at a range of forms of embodied labour, from banking to cleaning, care work to the creative industries, and fashion models to lace makers - amongst others. Using a range of geographical (and wider social scientific) literatures, we will use the body as a lens to look at dynamics of gender, power, class, exploitation, resistance, and identity in the contemporary economy. The module will be accessible to students from a range of social scientific backgrounds, with pre/co-requisites.  

Module aims - intentions of the module

The module is a lecture based course, which aims to:

-        introduce students to how embodied work has changed over time, particularly in terms of perceived skill and how it is valued and the kinds of work being done.

-        use the body as a tool to open a variety of forms of contemporary work up to critical scrutiny.

-        understand how dynamics of gender, power, class, exploitation and resistance variously play out in a range of contemporary forms of embodied labour.

-        look at a wide range of working environments, from offices to the home, hospitals to artist studios, and beyond.

-        develop a working understanding of a range of key ideas used to understand embodied work, including emotional labour, bodywork, aesthetic labour, skill, love what you do, and more.

In addressing these aims, the module will use a range of geographical and social scientific research to provide a rich range of case studies of embodied labour. We will explore these through weekly lectures and workshops. The lecture course draws on research undertaken by the module convenor, on issues such as bodywork and skill, atmospheric labour, and love what you do work. Furthermore, as part of your assessment you will carry out your own piece of research-led work as you produce a critical analysis of a chosen form of embodied work, using ideas from the literature on embodied work. This module will help you to develop and extend your awareness of the importance of taught and learnt skills in strengthening employability potential, especially through the application of critical analytical skills to a range of historical and contemporary global issues.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Explain how and why the body has become an important scale of investigation for Geographers interested in work.
• 2. Develop a working understanding of a range of key ideas used to understand embodied work, including emotional labour, bodywork, aesthetic labour, skill, love what you do, and more.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. Understand, critique and communicate geographical ideas, principles and theories.
• 4. Understand how the body relates to broader geographical research, understandings and knowledges of work.

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. Develop independent/self-directed study/learning skills, including time management.
• 6. Present material to support a reasoned and consistent argument, both verbally and in writing.

Syllabus plan

The course will cover a range of different forms of work through the lens of the body, including health and care work; banking and office work; sex work; hospitality and leisure work; fashion and beauty work; working in the creative industries; craft, making, and manual labour. 

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Harvey, G., Vachhani, S. J., & Williams, K. (2014). Working out: Aesthetic labour, affect and the fitness industry personal trainer. Leisure Studies, 33(5), 454–470.
• Herod, A., and Aguiar, L. (2006) Special Issue: Cleaners and the dirty work of neoliberalism. Antipode, 38(3).
• McDowell, L. (2009). Working Bodies: Interactive Service Employment and Workplace Identities, Wiley.
• Watson, A., Ward, J., & Fair, J. (2021). Staging atmosphere: Collective emotional labour on the film set. Social & Cultural Geography, 22(1), 76–96.
• Weeks, K. (2011). The Problem with Work: Feminism, Marxism, Antiwork Politics, and Postwork Imaginaries. Duke University Press.
• Wissinger, E. (2007). Modelling a Way of Life: Immaterial and Affective Labour in the Fashion Modelling Industry. Ephemera: Theory & Politics in Organization, 7.
• Wolkowitz, C. (2006). Bodies at Work. Sage.

Key words search

Embodiment, work, labour, power, value.