Why Work?: The Perceptions of "A Real Job" and the Rhetoric of Work through the Ages

Why Work explores the contemporary cultural construction of work, beginning with the expression, "A Real Job." This volume examines "work" in the writings of Aristotle, Plato, Confucius, St. Benedict, Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois, Mother Jones, Emma Goldman, Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, Frederick Winslow Taylor, and Mary Parker Follett to answer the question, "Can the concept of work be divorced from the thinker's past?" A final chapter re-examines the core issue in light of the vary concept of "work" and ask one more time "why work?" This work is a result of an Honors seminar at Purdue University.

Robin P. Clair is a Professor of Communication at Purdue University. Clair is an award-winning author and researcher, as well as a nationally invited lecturer, who speaks on a variety of organizational communication topics. Stephanie Bell, earned a B.A. in Communications from Purdue University and is a Senior Administrative Assistant for Urban Programming at the Center for Special Concerns, University of Notre Dame. Stephanie Mathes, B.A. in Communications from Purdue University currently serves as the Community Relations Assistant for the Indianapolis Colts. Kyle J. Hackbarth, B.A. in Communications from Purdue University is currently serving in the United States Army, in Baghdad, Iraq as a Forward Observer. Megan McConnell, B.A. in Communications and Political Science from Purdue University.