The aim of the course is to theoretically address the concept of industrial relations and its connection with other related concepts; to identify the historical background of industrial relations and labour history, the developments that have taken place, the concrete and legal steps that have been taken, whether the historical background has contributed to today’s industrial relations and labour life, and how the historical course of industrial relations has developed both in the world and in Turkey, and to make the necessary evaluations accordingly.

The following topics related to the concept and history of industrial relations will be addressed: the concept of industrial relations; inter-market relations in the economy and key actors within the context of industrial relations; the scope of industrial relations; the relationship between industrial relations, labour economics, and history; the concept and sources of the history of industrial relations; the concepts of industrial relations and labour relations and their comparison; population, labour force, and industrial relations; factors influencing industrial relations; the periodisation of the history of industrial relations; the history of industrial relations from its origins to the Industrial Revolution; the history of industrial relations from the Industrial Revolution to the present day; and a detailed examination of the history of industrial relations in the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Turkey.