Labor's Love is Not Lost in Next Project Series

The poet Kahlil Gibran once said "Work is love made visible." Others have called it our reward (George Sand), a joy (Henry Ford), and even the fountain of youth (Pearl Buck).

But aside from needing to earn a living, why do we work? Does it give our lives meaning? These and other questions will help frame "The Ubiquity of Work," next in St. Ambrose's interdisciplinary Project Series. Designed to include coursework, speakers, films and exhibits, "The Ubiquity of Work"-as with the Darwin and Migration Projects of the previous two years-will promote discussion and thought, both among students and the wider community.

Project co-chairs Sandra Quinn, associate professor of sociology, and Michael Hustedde, professor of English, acknowledge that the theme might mystify students who, at this point in their lives, may see work as nothing more than a "job."

"Many people don't recognize the importance of work in human life," Quinn says. "They think, aside from needing to earn a living, why would anyone work? Another important question is, what do we owe one another as workers and spenders, suppliers and employers?

Through "The Ubiquity of Work," the organizers hope to help develop "a deep respect for the dignity that even the most menial work confers on people," Quinn says. "We hope to help students and the community reflect in a focused way on the meaning work gives our lives."

Hustedde agrees. "As long as we're breathing, we're living, but how well we live depends in part on the work we choose to do. That includes the job we focus on-and much, much more," he says. "All of our students are facing working lives beyond their years at St. Ambrose, and for the overwhelming majority, work is a primary focus. The project will help us to see a job as but one part of the life affirming and sustaining activity we call work."

Scholars from universities such as Duke, Brandeis and Rutgers will speak on topics ranging from the crossnational differences in work, how going on welfare affects self-image, and how workforce development policy can be adapted to help raise women out of poverty. Project-themed performances include the Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre presentation with Iowa Poet Laureate Mary Swander of her book "The Girls on the Roof" on Sept. 30, as well as Ambrose's own department of music's "Music of Work" concert next spring.

Ultimately, Quinn and Hustedde hope the project will help generate a commitment within audiences to treating all with dignity, no matter what job they do.

"As a Catholic institution, we agree we are all ultimately of the human condition. Any one of us could fall upon the worst of times," Quinn says. "We are obliged to recognize one another as fellow human beings. To
treat one another with dignity. To work for one another's success. The bottom line is, we need each other."

-Susan Flansburg