Our Daily Work, Our Daily Lives
"Our Daily Work / Our Daily Lives" is a joint project that focuses on the artistic traditions of workers and on workplaces as contexts for the expression of workers culture. The richness and diversity of workers' experiences and workers culture is explored and presented through an ongoing series of exhibits, lectures, and presentations; writing and research projects; reunions; and demonstrations and discussions.
The program was established in 1992 and is coordinated by the Michigan Traditional Arts Program at the MSU Museum and the Labor Education Program in the College of Social Science's School of Human Resources and Labor Relations.
Our Daily Work, Our Daily Lives Brown Bag Series - Spring 2026
All presentations take place in the Green Room, 4th floor, MSU Library from 12:00pm - 1:15pm ET, and are available as an online webinar at https://msu.zoom.us/j/97496813137. The password is odwodl.
In Search of Gold: Working under Extractive Colonial Capitalism in British India
Speaker: Basav Biradar, MSU Film Studies Program
Date/Time:
Tuesday, January 20, 2026
12:00pm - 1:15pm ET
Co-sponsored by the MSU Asian Studies Center
Mighty Fine Hammer: African Americans, Work and the Power of Song
Performers: Hubby Jenkins, Folk Performer
Date/Time:
Friday, January 30, 2026
1:00pm - 2:15pm ET
Co-sponsored by the MSU Department of African American and African Studies, and held in conjunction with the Ten Pound Fiddle
Soccer as Work and Play: A Congolese Life Story, from Colonialism to Globalization
Speaker: Peter Alegi, MSU Department of History
Date/Time:
Wednesday, February 18, 2026
12:00pm - 1:15pm ET
Curing the Crisis of Masculinity: Calisthenics and Office Work in the Early Twentieth Century
Speaker: Nicholas Sly, MSU Department of History
Date/Time:
Tuesday, February 24, 2026
12:00pm - 1:15pm ET
Smooth as Silk: Working Women of the Belding, MI Silk Mills (1902-1908)
Speaker: Jenelle Thelen
Date/Time:
Monday, March 23, 2026
12:00pm - 1:15pm ET
The Musical Tanner: Negotiating Work, Music, and Belief in Revolutionary Boston
Speaker: David Stowe, MSU Religious Studies
Date/Time:
Friday, April 3, 2026
12:00pm - 1:15pm ET
Our Daily Work, Our Daily Lives Audio Archive
Thanks to all of the folks at the MSU Vincent Voice Library who have worked with us to create this archived set of recordings for Our Daily Work/Our Daily Lives.
Follow these steps to access all of the recordings we have cataloged thus far:
- Start at the MSU Library Homepage: https://lib.msu.edu
- Type in search box "Our daily work, our daily lives brown bag series"
- Click on "See More »" in the Books & Media box
- As of 4/4/23, there are 136 results for the series!