…sharing the experiences and perceptions of adjunct and contingent staff at the university level. Leslie Wolter and Nicole Hancock opened the discussion in February 2005 with an anthology of essays addressing the experiences and perceptions of contingent faculty. Though drawn together from that beginning, we open the conversation here to anyone who may be looking for a place to exchange ideas about navigating the world of academic in-betweens. Welcome. Every voice makes a contribution.
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Adjunct Staff and Departmental Inclusion
Comments left on a previous post mentioned an interest on the part of adjunct staff to be included in departmental discussions. Here is an interesting exchange of opinions that published in the April issue of the NEA's Advocate. As I understand it, the discussion raised quite a response from readers. It's a short read ... let us know what you think.
In that same April issue there's an article about a union victory for adjunct staff at Prairie State College in Chicago Heights. Yeah!
I didn't experience much of the sense of "non-entity," but I think that had more to do with the fact that I didn't know I was "supposed to" feel non-existant. I did adjunct work at a small technical college, was given the desk/work area of the instructor I replaced, and more or less (forwardly) moved in, including myself in whatever conversations were taking place around me. Looking back at those experiences now from the vantage point of having moved on to graduate study at a more substantial university, I can see that I "imposed myself" there in ways that I didn't then know how to recognize. It's a little embarrassing to realize only now that I hadn't really been welcomed ... I think I was just too doggone excited at the time to be getting a first job teaching college that I didn't notice I wasn't suppose to fit in... ha!
Teaching as a graduate assistant now is "payback" for my ignorance then. Now I'm feeling the "cheap labor" regard and non-entity status. Professional interaction with full-time faculty on pedagogical concerns? ... rarely happens.
In answer to Anonymous re: professional associations, I did come across an article I found encouraging. This piece written in the NEA Advocate pointed me to COCAL: Coalition of Contingent Academic Labor. When I tried to track down an online presence for the organization, I could only find the Chicago Coalition of Contingent Academic Labor, but through their website I foundthis pagethat lists resources branching in dozens of directions. If any of the rest of you do any reading there, maybe you could post back here to let us know what you find of interest.
That's about it for me, except to say that I'm glad to find connections here.
