This seminar will examine the connections between work and citizenship in the modern welfare state. At times, citizens claim a right to work, workers assert a right to citizenship, and the state demands that its citizens work. Work sometimes offers an alternative to the nation state as a site of community membership, and it can relegate people to second-class citizenship. At issue throughout are basic questions about the foundations of solidarity and freedom, and about how gender, kinship, race, class, and disability shape economic and political relations. Topical contexts include immigration policy, welfare reform, social insurance, and labor regulation. Students will write either a series of response papers or a substantial research paper. The class will meet for nine extended sessions, primarily in the fall semester but not concluding until the spring semester.