"I'm glad it's sunny out today. Because it sure is dark in here." So said a grad student during the Q and A following my talk last week at the University of Oregon. The talk, "Hacking the Academic Job Market," is a talk that I've given at almost 50 … [Read more...] about Starving the Beast
Adjunct Issues
Building Solidarity Across the Profession – A Guest Post
By Miranda Merklein Miranda Merklein lives in Seattle, WA where she works as a faculty organizer for SEIU Local 925. She is a former adjunct professor with a PhD in English from the University of Southern Mississippi, an MA in liberal arts from … [Read more...] about Building Solidarity Across the Profession – A Guest Post
Join the AAUP, People! (Guest Post by Michael Bérubé)
by Michael Bérubé* Michael Bérubé is Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of Literature at Pennsylvania State University, a former president of the Modern Language Association, and a member of AAUP’s Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure. I was … [Read more...] about Join the AAUP, People! (Guest Post by Michael Bérubé)
Heroic Mother Teaches Class With Sick Child – Guest Post
(This is not a post-ac post, as I normally put up on Mondays. But it's a great guest post and I wanted to share it right away.) It's by Stephanie Brown. Stephanie is cultural anthropologist and adjunct instructor in the Department of Human … [Read more...] about Heroic Mother Teaches Class With Sick Child – Guest Post
An Alt-Ac Summer Workshop That Works (A guest post)
This post is contributed by reader Rebecah Pulsifer. I hope that other programs will read this and consider developing similar initiatives. Thank you, Rebecah! Graduate study, as TPII readers know well, is wildly out of step with the current … [Read more...] about An Alt-Ac Summer Workshop That Works (A guest post)
Hope, with Pictures and a Drawing
In a burst of inspiration last weekend, I outlined my next book! I want to share my idea with you, and ask you for your thoughts, comments, stories, and suggestions. It's going to draw a lot from reader/client experiences. But first, please check … [Read more...] about Hope, with Pictures and a Drawing
A Big Week at The Professor Is In: My Book Comes Out!
The day finally arrived! On Tuesday the book came out and The Professor Is In: The Essential Guide to Turning Your Ph.D. into a Job was officially launched onto the world. 480 pages, half of it newly updated and revised versions of the most … [Read more...] about A Big Week at The Professor Is In: My Book Comes Out!
On Selling Out: A Semi-Manifesto – Langer #postac post
by Jessica Langer I've got news for you: if you take a tenure-track position at a university that uses a significant amount of adjunct labour, you have sold out. This may come as a surprise to you. Academia is the opposite of selling out, you may … [Read more...] about On Selling Out: A Semi-Manifesto – Langer #postac post
On Foregone Earnings, or the Economics of Adjunct Life (A Guest Post)
by Russ Burgos In August 1994, at age 31, I started graduate school in the hope (widely shared) of becoming One Who Professes. In May 2015, at age 52 and stuck in the adjunct life like a bug on flypaper, I rather wish I hadn’t. It’s the money, you … [Read more...] about On Foregone Earnings, or the Economics of Adjunct Life (A Guest Post)
Update on My Book: Blurbs, Reviews, and a Promotion
The book inches closer to actually existing in the material world (August 4)! It has gotten some lovely blurbs by amazing people, like this one by the inimitable Rebecca Schuman: “If you would like your academic career to begin in delusion and end … [Read more...] about Update on My Book: Blurbs, Reviews, and a Promotion