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[isaacsweeney]

http://junctrebellion.wordpress.com/2011/08/05/how-long-how-long/#comment-105

I'll probably catch some hell for this one, but ...
It's from the blog, The Homeless Adjunct. The correlations are a bit shaky, but it's still interesting.

[secundem_artem]

http://junctrebellion.wordpress.com/2011/08/05/how-long-how-long/#comment-105

I'll probably catch some hell for this one, but ...
It's from the blog, The Homeless Adjunct. The correlations are a bit shaky, but it's still interesting.

Correlations are shaky?  They are non-existent.  These were adjuncts who committed suicide.  Nothing in the article provides any evidence that they committed suicide because of some aspect of being an adjunct.  

I bet last year some plumbers, real estate agents and taxi drivers also committed suicide.  But that does not mean we need to organize for plumbers, real estate agents and taxi drivers.

I agree that the treatment of adjuncts is scandalous.  But overheated, sloppy thinking like this article is unhelpful.

[polly_mer]

Interesting, but the most recent suicide details for the math guy are wrong, according to the links from the discussion on this thread.

I just came from the lack of empathy discussion, so I'm possibly demonstrating the effect.  However, I'm still unclear about why we should be contributing to a general collection instead of telling adjuncts to get other jobs since adjuncting for peanuts is not a long-term stable prospect for retirement.  People who have graduate degrees ought to be able to figure that out, but let's tell them again, anyway, shall we?

I certainly don't want more people to be desperate enough to commit suicide when they could be doing other things and avoid the problem.  Oh, and what Secundem_Artem wrote about poor scientific thinking.

[helpful]

Have you heard of something called a "union". I know many adjuncts who belong to one of these things. They report their working conditions have improved remarkably.

Secondly, heard of a national health plan. Gee, most nations have one. Not the U.S. of A. No sirree. Perhaps adjuncts can contribute to a discussion for a national health plan?

[spinnaker]

However, I'm still unclear about why we should be contributing to a general collection...

If you are gaining substantial material wealth from their generosity.

[southerntransplant]

However, I'm still unclear about why we should be contributing to a general collection...

If you are gaining substantial material wealth from their generosity.

Whose generosity? That of adjuncts? No offense, but no one is doing their work for free, nor should they.

So, Spinnaker, what are you talking about?

[spinnaker]

However, I'm still unclear about why we should be contributing to a general collection...

If you are gaining substantial material wealth from their generosity.

Whose generosity? That of adjuncts? No offense, but no one is doing their work for free, nor should they.

So, Spinnaker, what are you talking about?

Training extensively and then doing professional work for small compensation. This is generous.
If one decided to help adjuncts in one way or another then this could be a reason.

[janewales]

However, I'm still unclear about why we should be contributing to a general collection...

If you are gaining substantial material wealth from their generosity.

Whose generosity? That of adjuncts? No offense, but no one is doing their work for free, nor should they.

So, Spinnaker, what are you talking about?

Training extensively and then doing professional work for small compensation. This is generous.

Spinnaker, the problem with this formulation is that it suggests that the academic life is a vocation; that, like priests and nuns, one should be willing to do the work for little reward, out of generosity of spirit. It's the exploitation of that feeling, and of the desperate hope that enough of this generosity will earn the prize of a tenure-track job, that allows the system to persist. Generosity may be its own reward, but academics should be paid appropriately for their efforts.

[spinnaker]

Spinnaker, the problem with this formulation is that it suggests that the academic life is a vocation; that, like priests and nuns, one should be willing to do the work for little reward, out of generosity of spirit. It's the exploitation of that feeling, and of the desperate hope that enough of this generosity will earn the prize of a tenure-track job, that allows the system to persist. Generosity may be its own reward, but academics should be paid appropriately for their efforts.

Oh, I certainly agree.

[southerntransplant]

Spinnaker, the problem with this formulation is that it suggests that the academic life is a vocation; that, like priests and nuns, one should be willing to do the work for little reward, out of generosity of spirit. It's the exploitation of that feeling, and of the desperate hope that enough of this generosity will earn the prize of a tenure-track job, that allows the system to persist. Generosity may be its own reward, but academics should be paid appropriately for their efforts.

Oh, I certainly agree.

Your response to Polly, however, make it clear that you wish to apportion blame. The part of the sentence you neglected to quote (bolded below):

However, I'm still unclear about why we should be contributing to a general collection instead of telling adjuncts to get other jobs since adjuncting for peanuts is not a long-term stable prospect for retirement.

makes it quite clear that adjuncts have a choice in this matter. This is not indentured servitude. This is, of course, not everyone's opinion, and this board is rife with crossways discussions concerning whether or not this is true, and whether or not TT faculty have any responsibility or even power in changing this.

It might be worth a perusal of past discussions before donning sword and shield.

[toni52]

Although I certainly think that there should be more attention to the plight of adjuncts in academia, this kind of article will do little to win anyone over to the cause.  We'll never really know why any of these folks committed suicide.  And it is impossible to conclude that there is a growing trend in adjunct suicides based on such iffy evidence.

Being a member of the educated, professional class does not somehow make the plight of the adjunct unique or special.  There are lots of folks in the real world working in awful jobs in undesirable conditions--low-paying service sector jobs.   The author needs to speak with some folks working in dead-end McJobs.  

[educator1]

To have an article of this type even referenced in a discussion board for purported academics is embarrassing! There has been some reasoned discussion of the situation of a segment of the adjunct population but this certainly isn't part of it.

[womanofproperty]

Apparently one of the founders of this organization & the the author of the blog was a graduate student in a comparative world religion doctoral program in the late 1980's; although she appears to have had funding (assistantships & fellowships), she didn't complete her dissertation & left the program (ABD is listed with her other degrees). She has been teaching as an adjunct since then - getting a master's in creative writing along the way.

I think she probably could have completed her dissertation and gotten a full-time academic position back then - although the job market has never been that good, it was better than it is now. However, it looks as if she decided at some point to pursue a writing career instead. Since she apparently was funded in her doctoral program, I'm guessing she wouldn't have to deal with the crushing debt that many others in the humanities have. Perhaps she thought she could fund her writing career as an adjunct. If so, I'm sorry if her gamble didn't pay off (I can't tell for sure, but it seems she has arranged for many small income streams including adjuncting). However, given this background, it's difficult for me to see her as a victim of the system.

The other organization founder is an independent filmmaker with a BA in studio art who is taking film classes at NYU and (I believe) works at a 9-5 job to pay the bills. I wish her every success in her film career. But, again, on the surface at least, not someone who is a victim of the academic system.

[spinnaker]

Your response to Polly, however, make it clear that you wish to apportion blame. The part of the sentence you neglected to quote (bolded below):

However, I'm still unclear about why we should be contributing to a general collection instead of telling adjuncts to get other jobs since adjuncting for peanuts is not a long-term stable prospect for retirement.

makes it quite clear that adjuncts have a choice in this matter.

Two points: (1) On the subject of blame, the AAUP has something to say.
(2) Apparently professors are not the only ones who have a choice.


http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/issues/contingent/contingentfacts.htm

"The excessive use of, and inadequate compensation and professional support for, contingent faculty exploits these colleagues.
   Positions that require comparable work, responsibilities, and qualifications should be comparably compensated.
As the Association recommended in 1993, compensation for part-time appointments should be the applicable fraction of the compensation (including benefits) for a comparable full-time position.

The turn towards cheaper contingent labor is largely a matter of priorities rather than economic necessity.
While many institutions are currently suffering budget cuts, the greatest growth in contingent appointments occurred during times of economic prosperity.
Many institutions have invested heavily in facilities and technology while cutting instructional spending."

[prytania3]

This poor distraught man was 71. He probably had a career, retired, and adjuncted as a retirement gig for a little extra money.