Episode 18 - The Dream Betrayed, Part VI: The Church As Community of Justice

In this episode of Ergasia, we conclude our exploration of the book The Dream Betrayed: Religious Challenge of the Working Class by Lutheran scholar Karen L Bloomquist. Having taken us through the dilemma faced by the working class under the oppressive reign of neoliberalism, and having likewise identified both the sin lying at the heart of that oppression as well as the Church's contribution to the betrayal of working class hopes, Bloomquist issues a call to the Church to become a community of resistance that enables the structural injustices of corporatist capitalism to be identified, challenged, and transformed.

References

Bloomquist, Karen L., The Dream Betrayed: Religious Challenge of the Working Class. Minneapolis; Fortress Press, 1990 

Episode 17 - The Dream Betrayed Part V: Redeeming Working Class Reality

In this episode of Ergasia we continue our exploration of the book The Dream Betrayed: Religious Challenge of the Working Class by Lutheran scholar Karen L Bloomquist. In this episode, Bloomquist considers the question of how the Church can proclaim the Gospel of God's redemption in way that takes into account the reality of working class oppression, and which empowers the working class to resist the structures of domination and injustice by which their lives are controlled.

References

The Dream Betrayed: Religious Challenge of the Working Class. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1990.

Episode 16: The Dream Betrayed, Part IV: The Dominance of Sin

In this episode of Ergasia, we continue our exploration of the book The Dream Betrayed: Religious Challenge of the Working Class by Karen L Bloomquist, published by Fortress Press. Bloomquist asks: what are the ways in which sin manifests itself in the structures of dominance and control that enslave working class life? How are these structures upheld by our conceptions of what sin is? And what is the relevance of the Gospel proclamation of grace, both to the realities of working class life and as a mechanism for liberation?

References

Bloomquist, Karen L The Dream Betrayed: Religious Challenge of the Working Class. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1990.

Ergasia Special Episode No.2 - Conversation With A Quaker, Part 3

In this episode of Ergasia Special, your host Brendan Byrne concludes his conversation with trade unionist Chris Hughes. Together, they explore how the privatisation of faith and the withdrawal of the church from the world of work might be reversed in order to both articulate the Good News of the Gospel and discern what an alternate future to the status quo might look like.

Ergasia Special Episode No.2 - Conversation With A Quaker, Part 2

In this second installment of Ergasia Special Episode No.2, the host of Ergasia, Brendan Byrne, continues his conversation with Australian trade unionist Chris Hughes. How does the relationship between religious faith and organised labour operate? Where are its synergies and frictions? And what is the future for both unionism and the church in an ever-changing world?

Ergasia Special Episode No.2 - Conversation With A Quaker, Part 1

In this Ergasia Special episode, your host, Brendan Byrne, speaks with an Australian trade unionist from a Quaker background about faith, work, and how being a Christian and a labour activist do - and sometimes don't - go together. 

Episode 15 - The Dream Betrayed, Part III: Theological Perspectives For Addressing Class Realities

In this epsode of Ergasia, we continue our exploration of the book The Dream Betrayed: Religious Challenge of the Working Class by Karen L Bloomquist (Fortress Press, 1990). What are the theological perspectives that have attempted to address the realities of modernity and the dilemma of the working class? Is it even possible for theology to successfuly undertake this project? What are the counterveiling declarations about human life which are made by the idolatrous ideology of modernity?

References

Bloomquist, Karen L The Dream Betrayed: Religious Challenge of the Working Class. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1990.

Ergasia Digest #7 - 23.4.18

In this week's episode: the difficulty of accessing parental leave; artists asked to work for free; the "lost" generation of those born after 1973; the push to criminalise "wage theft"; and the fallout from the Financial Services Royal Commission. What are the theological implications of these realities -how do they speak of our understanding of justice, and of the distortions of "partiality".

References

Lufkin, Bryan "Dealing With Clients Who Expect You To Work For Free", located at http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20180411-dealing-with-clients-who-expect-you-to-work-for-free

Hoffman,  Michael "Japan faces up to the prospect of losing a middle class war", located at https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/04/14/national/media-national/japan-faces-prospect-losing-middle-class-war/#.WtQKOkxuJfw

McCrostie, James "Court cases shine a light on Japan's problem with paternity leave" located at https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2018/01/28/issues/court-cases-shine-light-japans-problem-paternity-leave/#.WtQM3UxuJfw

Schneiders, Ben and Millar, Royce "Push to jail employers for up to 10 years for 'wage theft'", located at https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/push-to-jail-employers-for-up-to-10-years-for-wage-theft-20180407-p4z8ap.html

Author Unknown "Banking royal commission revelations 'worse than I thought', says former ACCC boss" located at http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-20/banking-royal-commission-allan-fells-accc-reaction/9679182

Carey, Alexis "Financial Services Royal Commission begins public hearings" located at http://www.news.com.au/finance/business/banking/financial-services-royal-commission-begins-public-hearings/news-story/070535cef877ff7c27cc82faf3dc3350

Yaxley, Louise "Malcolm Turnbull conceeds banking royal commission should have been called sooner", located at http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-23/banks-royal-commission-shouldve-been-called-sooner-turnbull-says/9686596

Episode 14 - The Dream Betrayed, Part II: Religion and the Realities of Class

In this epsode of Ergasia, we continue our exploration of the book The Dream Betrayed: Religious Challenge of the Working Class by Karen L Bloomquist (Fortress Press). What are the ways in which the Church deepens the wounds of classism as they are inflicted by the failed dream of neoliberalism? What does the "religion" of the working class look like, and to what hopes and griefs does it give voice? How does the idol of neoliberalism continue its hold over the working class despite their experience of its frustrations and failures?

References

Bloomquist, Karen L The Dream Betrayed: Religious Challenge of the Working Class. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1990.

Ergasia Digest #6 - 18.3.18

In this edition of Ergasia Digest, we examine ongoing moves in the US to destroy the ability of labour unions to collectively bargain, the consequences of so-called "crypto-colonialism", the state of Australian workplace culture, and what happens when unions and governments support workplace agreements that have potentially negative human rights implications. Through it all, we'll pose the question: whose interest is being served - the network of human digniy Christianity understands as covenantal relationship, or the dehumanising powers of political and institutional prerogative?

References

Irvine, Jessica, "'Shocking' levels of sexual harassment at work, study reveals", located at https://www.theage.com.au/business/careers/shocking-levels-of-sexual-harassment-at-work-study-reveals-20180305-p4z2wn.html

Yarovaya, Larisa and Lucey, Brian "Should Bitcoin be used to help countries hit by disaster?" located at http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20180305-should-bitcoin-be-used-to-help-countries-hit-by-disaster

McNicholas, Celine; Mokhiber, Zane; and von Wilpert, Marni "Janus and fair share fees: The organizations financing the attack on unions’ ability to represent workers" located at http://www.epi.org/publication/janus-and-fair-share-fees-the-organizations-financing-the-attack-on-unions-ability-to-represent-workers/

Hinchliffe, Joe "Victorian government calls for biggest minimum wage boost since 2010" located at https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/victorian-government-calls-for-biggest-minimum-wage-boost-since-2010-20180311-p4z3ui.html

McKenzie, Nick; Tomazin, Farrah; and Baker, Richard "The report the firefighters' union did not want you to see", located at https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/the-report-the-firefighters-union-did-not-want-you-to-see-20180305-p4z2xy.html

Olekains, Mara "How to ask for a pay rise" located at https://theconversation.com/how-to-ask-for-a-pay-rise-797560