BOOKS@WORK
SERVICE AND DUTY: A LEARNING FRAMEWORK
A curriculum of “give and take”
What is Books@Work?
In 2010, over 78% of the documented American labor force worked in the
service industry, a number projected to grow through 2020. 1 These jobs
run the gamut from professional to personal services, at every level of the
income spectrum. In an economy so deeply dependent on service, do we
have the opportunity to raise and discuss important questions about the
service experience for the provider as well as the recipient?
Books@Work is a highly
interactive program in
which college professors
work with front line
employees to jointly
explore and reflect upon
broad themes in an
enjoyable and engaging
seminar. The sponsor of
Books@Work, That Can Be
Me, Inc., has developed a
series of curricular learning
frameworks focused on
several popular themes,
with the input and
guidance of both
employers and professors.
These include, among
others, Empathy, Justice,
Courage, Service, Conflict
and Money/Economics.
The frameworks are merely
guidelines, designed to
raise a set of essential
questions and suggest
potential readings, both
fiction and non-fiction.
Each program will be
tailored and unique,
reflecting the needs,
perspectives and interests
of participants.
Why are some forms of service lauded and others demeaned? Is there joy
or satisfaction in a service well performed, regardless of the nature of the
work? If Mohandas Ghandi’s words ring true - “service which is rendered
without joy helps neither the servant nor the served” - can we properly
serve others if we do so at the expense of our own satisfaction?
What does it mean to serve a customer well? How much choice do we
have in deciding how best to serve? What duty do we have to serve
someone (or something) we do not like or do not respect? What happens
when one who serves is not treated with respect? Where is the line
between service and servitude?
How do we balance the tension between authentic caring and a duty to
perform? How do we balance our own emotional needs with the
emotional needs of those we serve? Are there diverse styles and
approaches to authentic service?
An illustrative selection of readings that create diverse opportunities to
explore service and its related issues follows on the next page. The selected
books are intentionally quite broad and diverse; if Books@Work becomes an
avenue for training or moralizing, it loses its ability to inspire and excite. For
example, books that offer stories of service ignite an open discussion of
challenges and conflicts; books that purport to present “how to serve well”
become instructive and do not permit participants to surface and discuss
meaningful issues that affect them.
1 Bureau of Labor Statistics,Industry employment and output projections to 2020, January 2012. http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_table_201.htm
THAT CAN BE ME
BOOKS@ WORK: LITERARY SELECTIONS ON SERVICE AND DUTY
The selections listed below illustrate potential reading choices: the list is not exhaustive. To ensure the most engaging
learning experience, final selections will be made by participating faculty with this framework as a guide.
Literature, Poetry and Plays
Kazuo Ishiguro, Remains of the Day (1989)
The memoirs of an English butler as he looks back to the days
leading up to World War II.
Rudyard Kipling, Gunga Din (1892)
In times of stress, we question whether there natural human
hierarchies or whether we are brothers on the same journey.
Emile Zola, The Belly of Paris (1873)
Centered on the food markets of Paris, Zola examines
society’s downfalls through the adventures of a single family.
Fannie Flagg, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle
Stop Cafe (1987)
An elderly woman’s stories about running a cafe in a small
town inspire and engage a younger friend.
Sinclair Lewis, Arrowsmith (1925)
The life and times of an idealistic 19th century doctor, and the
personal and professional challenges he encounters.
Arthur Golden, Memoirs of a Geisha (1997)
The life and training of a geisha, serving in Tokyo before and
after World War II.
Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony (1977)
A Native American man returns from World War II Japan to
the challenges of finding his rightful place in the world.
Stephen Crane, Red Badge of Courage (1895)
The inner experience of young Civil War soldier wrestling with
his fears and fleeing from combat.
Emile Zola, Germinal (1885)
Facing extreme poverty, miners protest worsening working
conditions in a French mine and confront societal norms.
Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird (1960)
A young girl comes of age in the Deep South as her father
defends a black man accused of attacking a white woman.
James Hilton, Goodbye Mr. Chips (1934)
A beloved teacher in a British boarding school attends to the
changes in British society as a result of World War I.
Wilfred Owen, Dulce et Decorum Est (1917-18)
A poem of the horrors of war, written during World War I,
reflecting the honor of dying for one’s country.
Margaret Craven, I Heard the Owl Call My Name
(1967)
A young Catholic priest learns as much from the Native
American villagers he is sent to serve as they do from him.
Michael Ondaatje, The English Patient (1992)
A Canadian nurse cares for an English soldier burned beyond
recognition during World War II.
Herman Melville, Bartleby the Scrivener (1853)
A Wall Street lawyer hires a scrivener who begins to refuse to
do his work while never leaving the office.
William Butler Yeats, An Irish Airman Foresees His
Death (1918)
The soliloquy, in poetic form, of an Irish World War I pilot as
he approaches his death.
Marilynne Robinson, Home (2009)
A woman returns to the small town of her youth to care for her
dying father and reconnects with her wayward brother.
Social Science, Non-fiction and Essays
Arlie Russell Hochschild, The Managed Heart: The
Commercialization of Human Feeling (1979)
A sociologist explores the commercial impact of “emotional
labor,” where workers’ feelings are integral to their jobs.
George Orwell, Shooting an Elephant (1931)
When man is asked to perform a service about which he
disagrees, he must justify or reconcile his behavior.
Tim O’Brien, The Things They Carried (1990)
A writer chronicles the experiences of soldiers serving in
Vietnam by detailing the things they carried into battle.
George Orwell, The Road to Wigan Pier (1937)
A sociological study of working conditions in northern
England, contrasted to the lifestyles of the middle class.
Michael Gates Gill, How Starbucks Changed My
Life (2007)
“A son of privilege learns to live like everyone else.”
Science and Nature
E.O. Wilson, On Human Nature (1979)
A biologist explains characteristics of humans and society in
light of evolution, including generosity, self-sacrifice and
worship.
THAT CAN BE ME