WCSA Partners

The Center for Working Class Studies (CWCS) at Youngstown State University (YSU) was the first academic program in the U.S. to focus on issues of work and class. CWCS members have been at the forefront of "new working-class studies," an international movement that brings together academics, artists, activists, students, and others who are interested in the history, experiences, stories, and politics of the working class.

The Center for the Study of Working Class Life is dedicated to exploring the meaning of class in today’s world. Looking at society through the lens of class clarifies many important social questions in new ways – why the rich get richer while the poor get poorer, what attacks on government programs through privatization mean, why the suburbs aren’t really a middle class haven, how the "family values" debate impacts our lives, and much more. The Center is an interdisciplinary effort of faculty and staff at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, founded in November, 1999.

The Chicago Center for Working-Class Studies was organized in May 2001. The goal of CCWCS is to "make class visible" by working with labor and community organizations to build public dialogue around class issues.