Academic Freedom and Cancel Culture

[ciao_yall]

many adjuncts were actually quite happy to be part-time. They didn't want the full teaching loads because it worked well with other parts of their lives. They didn't want to deal with committee responsibilities or internal politics. They just would be fine with being paid a little better for the work they actually did.

That would be fine if people were just doing this as side work or for supplemental income, but too many want to make a career of adjuncting and then are upset when that career doesn't grant them status, job security, and sufficient income.

Alternatively, they don't remain open to other career possibilities and continue to sit on the proverbial equator, waiting for it to snow.

[mahagonny]

... but too many want to make a career of adjuncting and then are upset when that career doesn't grant them status, job security, and sufficient income.

Again, hard to believe the facts -- the odds -- weren't known to them ahead of time.

Of course.

Look, I understand that people want to be professors and that they are socialized through grad school to think that being a academic is the only way forward, but one cannot eek out a decent living (let alone a comfortable retirement) through adjuncting alone. If you have a PhD, are not otherwise wealthy, and have a slim-to-none shot at getting a full time position, then you should be looking for non-academic jobs.

From my experience, people go into grad school already fixated on the idea of becoming a professor,  and no one can socialize them out of it.  Both my wife and I fit that profile.  We were both warned independently about the then-already-bad job market but decided independently to pursue the life anyway.  We have both tried to warn off young people from pursuing academia as a career, and it has always failed.  People are simply too in-love with the idea of academia to be put-off, in my experience.

But that means everything is OK!

Everything is 'OK' or stable as long as there is no social justice dynamic. If 50% of adjunct faculty instead of 7% were black there would be a furor. As it is wealthy white academics who once worked as adjuncts see themselves as having been exploited. Which makes them entitled to their share of the booty, and nothing to live down or cause embarrassment, because adjuncts are mostly white.

[dismalist]

... but too many want to make a career of adjuncting and then are upset when that career doesn't grant them status, job security, and sufficient income.

Again, hard to believe the facts -- the odds -- weren't known to them ahead of time.

Of course.

Look, I understand that people want to be professors and that they are socialized through grad school to think that being a academic is the only way forward, but one cannot eek out a decent living (let alone a comfortable retirement) through adjuncting alone. If you have a PhD, are not otherwise wealthy, and have a slim-to-none shot at getting a full time position, then you should be looking for non-academic jobs.

From my experience, people go into grad school already fixated on the idea of becoming a professor,  and no one can socialize them out of it.  Both my wife and I fit that profile.  We were both warned independently about the then-already-bad job market but decided independently to pursue the life anyway.  We have both tried to warn off young people from pursuing academia as a career, and it has always failed.  People are simply too in-love with the idea of academia to be put-off, in my experience.

But that means everything is OK!

Everything is 'OK' or stable as long as there is no social justice dynamic. If 50% of adjunct faculty instead of 7% were black there would be a furor. As it is wealthy white academics who once worked as adjuncts see themselves as having been exploited. Which makes them entitled to their share of the booty, and nothing to live down or cause embarrassment, because adjuncts are mostly white.

Envy is one of the seven deadly sins, and for good reason. Pride and wrath are right up there with envy.

[mahagonny]

... but too many want to make a career of adjuncting and then are upset when that career doesn't grant them status, job security, and sufficient income.

Again, hard to believe the facts -- the odds -- weren't known to them ahead of time.

Of course.

Look, I understand that people want to be professors and that they are socialized through grad school to think that being a academic is the only way forward, but one cannot eek out a decent living (let alone a comfortable retirement) through adjuncting alone. If you have a PhD, are not otherwise wealthy, and have a slim-to-none shot at getting a full time position, then you should be looking for non-academic jobs.

From my experience, people go into grad school already fixated on the idea of becoming a professor,  and no one can socialize them out of it.  Both my wife and I fit that profile.  We were both warned independently about the then-already-bad job market but decided independently to pursue the life anyway.  We have both tried to warn off young people from pursuing academia as a career, and it has always failed.  People are simply too in-love with the idea of academia to be put-off, in my experience.

But that means everything is OK!

Everything is 'OK' or stable as long as there is no social justice dynamic. If 50% of adjunct faculty instead of 7% were black there would be a furor. As it is wealthy white academics who once worked as adjuncts see themselves as having been exploited. Which makes them entitled to their share of the booty, and nothing to live down or cause embarrassment, because adjuncts are mostly white.

Envy is one of the seven deadly sins, and for good reason. Pride and wrath are right up there with envy.

Racist. You can't say that. Your white privilege...confess now.

[Wahoo Redux]

... but too many want to make a career of adjuncting and then are upset when that career doesn't grant them status, job security, and sufficient income.

Again, hard to believe the facts -- the odds -- weren't known to them ahead of time.

Of course.

Look, I understand that people want to be professors and that they are socialized through grad school to think that being a academic is the only way forward, but one cannot eek out a decent living (let alone a comfortable retirement) through adjuncting alone. If you have a PhD, are not otherwise wealthy, and have a slim-to-none shot at getting a full time position, then you should be looking for non-academic jobs.

From my experience, people go into grad school already fixated on the idea of becoming a professor,  and no one can socialize them out of it.  Both my wife and I fit that profile.  We were both warned independently about the then-already-bad job market but decided independently to pursue the life anyway.  We have both tried to warn off young people from pursuing academia as a career, and it has always failed.  People are simply too in-love with the idea of academia to be put-off, in my experience.

But that means everything is OK!

Well...no.  Didn't mean to imply that.

ciao_yall's homeless analogy is a very apt one, and just like the homeless problem damaging our streets, the adjunct army actually hurts academia a lot (and no easy answer in sight).  I suppose if we got all the adjuncts and homeless to those happy-to-be-so we'd be in much better shape.

I was simply suggesting that people know the risks but decide to take the ride anyway.  Blind optimism is a factor as is deep dissatisfaction with anything not academia. 

[marshwiggle]

From my experience, people go into grad school already fixated on the idea of becoming a professor,  and no one can socialize them out of it.  Both my wife and I fit that profile.  We were both warned independently about the then-already-bad job market but decided independently to pursue the life anyway.  We have both tried to warn off young people from pursuing academia as a career, and it has always failed.  People are simply too in-love with the idea of academia to be put-off, in my experience.

ciao_yall's homeless analogy is a very apt one, and just like the homeless problem damaging our streets, the adjunct army actually hurts academia a lot (and no easy answer in sight).  I suppose if we got all the adjuncts and homeless to those happy-to-be-so we'd be in much better shape.

I was simply suggesting that people know the risks but decide to take the ride anyway.  Blind optimism is a factor as is deep dissatisfaction with anything not academia.

If people will aim for academia, regardless of any information about the job market, pay, etc. then the only way to save people from themselves is to have government-enforced limits on admissions to PhD programs. (Presumably, many of these people would go into debt even if they were unfunded, so simply limiting funding won't work.)

Just like the homeless people who refuse to be housed, there's no non-coercive way to help people with that kind of single-minded goal.

[downer]

... but too many want to make a career of adjuncting and then are upset when that career doesn't grant them status, job security, and sufficient income.

Again, hard to believe the facts -- the odds -- weren't known to them ahead of time.

Of course.

Look, I understand that people want to be professors and that they are socialized through grad school to think that being a academic is the only way forward, but one cannot eek out a decent living (let alone a comfortable retirement) through adjuncting alone. If you have a PhD, are not otherwise wealthy, and have a slim-to-none shot at getting a full time position, then you should be looking for non-academic jobs.

From my experience, people go into grad school already fixated on the idea of becoming a professor,  and no one can socialize them out of it.  Both my wife and I fit that profile.  We were both warned independently about the then-already-bad job market but decided independently to pursue the life anyway.  We have both tried to warn off young people from pursuing academia as a career, and it has always failed.  People are simply too in-love with the idea of academia to be put-off, in my experience.

But that means everything is OK!

Well...no.  Didn't mean to imply that.

ciao_yall's homeless analogy is a very apt one, and just like the homeless problem damaging our streets, the adjunct army actually hurts academia a lot (and no easy answer in sight).  I suppose if we got all the adjuncts and homeless to those happy-to-be-so we'd be in much better shape.

I was simply suggesting that people know the risks but decide to take the ride anyway.  Blind optimism is a factor as is deep dissatisfaction with anything not academia.

Obviously it is crazy inadvisable to try to support oneself as an adjunct unless one has other income, especially if you are planning to do so for a lifetime. I wouldn't recommend most people go into PhDs these days even if they can get a TT job, let alone if they only get adjunct work.

But saying that the adjunct army hurts academia sounds very much like blaming the victim. The large number of adjuncts is the result and symptom of other problems.

What are the problems? One main candidate is the decisions of departments and deans to create or keep their PhDs program that serve little purpose aside from allowing faculty to teach more grad courses. There's also the administrative bloat we are all very familiar with -- why aren't there adjunct administrators? Then there's the general issue of underfunding. There are plenty of causes of the current state of academia. Yeah, there are those who romanticize it and don't face the harsh realities. They are way down the list of people who should be blamed for the problems though.

[dismalist]

Strangely, the structure of the adjuncting question has much in common with the vaccination question.

I know the probability of winding up as an adjunct when I go into and complete a PhD program. I enter the program and graduate. I happen to become an adjunct. Result of own informed decision. Not a problem.

I know the probability of getting Covid, but I do not get vaccinated. I happen to get Covid, suffer and even die. Result of own informed decision. Not a problem.

[marshwiggle]

Strangely, the structure of the adjuncting question has much in common with the vaccination question.

I know the probability of winding up as an adjunct when I go into and complete a PhD program. I enter the program and graduate. I happen to become an adjunct. Result of own informed decision. Not a problem.

I know the probability of getting Covid, but I do not get vaccinated. I happen to get Covid, suffer and even die. Result of own informed decision. Not a problem.

The difference is, people who choose not to get vaccinated and get sick with Covid seem to not be complaining about their poor medical care; some still don't even seem to believe they actually have Covid. However, the unhappy adjuncts are often blaming the system for not fixing their problem. If they'd claim that the stories of adjunct un- or under-employment were exaggerated, it would be great.

[jimbogumbo]

Strangely, the structure of the adjuncting question has much in common with the vaccination question.

I know the probability of winding up as an adjunct when I go into and complete a PhD program. I enter the program and graduate. I happen to become an adjunct. Result of own informed decision. Not a problem.

I know the probability of getting Covid, but I do not get vaccinated. I happen to get Covid, suffer and even die. Result of own informed decision. Not a problem.

The difference is, people who choose not to get vaccinated and get sick with Covid seem to not be complaining about their poor medical care; some still don't even seem to believe they actually have Covid. However, the unhappy adjuncts are often blaming the system for not fixing their problem. If they'd claim that the stories of adjunct un- or under-employment were exaggerated, it would be great.

Well, there is another difference. Pretty sure an adjunct cannot infect my grandkids with adjunctitis.

[Sun_Worshiper]

Strangely, the structure of the adjuncting question has much in common with the vaccination question.

I know the probability of winding up as an adjunct when I go into and complete a PhD program. I enter the program and graduate. I happen to become an adjunct. Result of own informed decision. Not a problem.

I know the probability of getting Covid, but I do not get vaccinated. I happen to get Covid, suffer and even die. Result of own informed decision. Not a problem.

The difference is, people who choose not to get vaccinated and get sick with Covid seem to not be complaining about their poor medical care; some still don't even seem to believe they actually have Covid. However, the unhappy adjuncts are often blaming the system for not fixing their problem. If they'd claim that the stories of adjunct un- or under-employment were exaggerated, it would be great.

Well, there is another difference. Pretty sure an adjunct cannot infect my grandkids with adjunctitis.

Yes, this is one of the more absurd comparisons I've come across.

[Wahoo Redux]

But saying that the adjunct army hurts academia sounds very much like blaming the victim. The large number of adjuncts is the result and symptom of other problems.

There is the moral judgment...

• (homeless and adjuncts are bad people and deserve what they get)

and there is the objective statement...

• (the homeless create a great deal of crime, tend to lack adequate resources for personal cleanliness, and are impoverished and thus tend to drain public resources; the adjunct army creates a great many issues in academia for teachers, students, and schools)

I'm willing to bet if you think about it a few moments the difference will be clear and you can see which one of those I am making. 

I have been an adjunct and trailing spouse, university PR writer, FT tutoring coordinator, VAP, and now a FT NTT lecturer.  I speak from experience.

I'm talking about the "harsh realities."

What are the problems? One main candidate is the decisions of departments and deans to create or keep their PhDs program that serve little purpose aside from allowing faculty to teach more grad courses. There's also the administrative bloat we are all very familiar with -- why aren't there adjunct administrators? Then there's the general issue of underfunding. There are plenty of causes of the current state of academia. Yeah, there are those who romanticize it and don't face the harsh realities. They are way down the list of people who should be blamed for the problems though.

This has been hashed over so often and at such length that I am not about to rehash it here.

I too wonder about admin bloat, which has been discussed at length, and the rest of that is also part of the hashing that's already been done.  I'm not sure what you are getting at.

[dismalist]

Strangely, the structure of the adjuncting question has much in common with the vaccination question.

I know the probability of winding up as an adjunct when I go into and complete a PhD program. I enter the program and graduate. I happen to become an adjunct. Result of own informed decision. Not a problem.

I know the probability of getting Covid, but I do not get vaccinated. I happen to get Covid, suffer and even die. Result of own informed decision. Not a problem.

The difference is, people who choose not to get vaccinated and get sick with Covid seem to not be complaining about their poor medical care; some still don't even seem to believe they actually have Covid. However, the unhappy adjuncts are often blaming the system for not fixing their problem. If they'd claim that the stories of adjunct un- or under-employment were exaggerated, it would be great.

Well, there is another difference. Pretty sure an adjunct cannot infect my grandkids with adjunctitis.

The infection part is handled easily. For Covid, get them vaccinated [the FDA willing]. For adjunctitis, don't get a PhD. Both are cheap.

[downer]

But saying that the adjunct army hurts academia sounds very much like blaming the victim. The large number of adjuncts is the result and symptom of other problems.

There is the moral judgment...

• (homeless and adjuncts are bad people and deserve what they get)

and there is the objective statement...

• (the homeless create a great deal of crime, tend to lack adequate resources for personal cleanliness, and are impoverished and thus tend to drain public resources; the adjunct army creates a great many issues in academia for teachers, students, and schools)

I'm willing to bet if you think about it a few moments the difference will be clear and you can see which one of those I am making. 

I have been an adjunct and trailing spouse, university PR writer, FT tutoring coordinator, VAP, and now a FT NTT lecturer.  I speak from experience.

I'm talking about the "harsh realities."

What are the problems? One main candidate is the decisions of departments and deans to create or keep their PhDs program that serve little purpose aside from allowing faculty to teach more grad courses. There's also the administrative bloat we are all very familiar with -- why aren't there adjunct administrators? Then there's the general issue of underfunding. There are plenty of causes of the current state of academia. Yeah, there are those who romanticize it and don't face the harsh realities. They are way down the list of people who should be blamed for the problems though.

This has been hashed over so often and at such length that I am not about to rehash it here.

I too wonder about admin bloat, which has been discussed at length, and the rest of that is also part of the hashing that's already been done.  I'm not sure what you are getting at.

I'm not sure what you mean when you say the adjunct army creates a great many issues. There are many issues, for sure, but what are they? I don't see the problems that occur when departments hire large numbers of adjunct faculty as separable from the other issues. They come in a package. Why do departments do it? Because they have little money. Why do they have little money? Because money is being wasted on other things (such as admin bloat), or there's just not enough coming in to the school. Why are there adjuncts willing to do the work? Because there are too many people with PhDs graduated by universities, when there are not enough tt jobs for them.

If we want to solve the problems, we can't just get rid of the adjunct army. There have to be systematic changes all over. And of course, that ain't gonna happen. Probably what changes that do occur will be more of the crash-and-burn variety, and we will see what we are left with when the smoke settles.

I'm not going to get into the analogy with homelessness. That just seems offensive (to all sorts of groups) and stupid.

[mahagonny]

Academic administrative bloat is the twin sister of excessive government regulation. Democrats love big government and they, even far-left democrats, absolutely dominate academia, including administration. Higher education is another thing, one of many, that the democrats have crapped all over and left others to figure out how to muddle through. Then there's the Diversity Industrial Complex, another gold mine for the groovy people. We are under siege. Don't get me started...

If we want to solve the problems, we can't just get rid of the adjunct army. There have to be systematic changes all over. And of course, that ain't gonna happen. Probably what changes that do occur will be more of the crash-and-burn variety, and we will see what we are left with when the smoke settles.

Aha! Finally something to look forward to. And it was worth the wait. Thnx