What follows is a very personal account... This should not be construed as an apology for, defence of the way adjuncts are treated elsewhere in the country
I am an adjunct lecturer at a State university in the South. Other than the very obvious fact that I would rather have a full-time job, for the security, (I earned a grand total of $9000 from Jan 2007 to August 2008, and for the first time in my life I have credit card debt) and that I could, at times, do with a Teaching Assistant - I have not had a single cause for complaint. Quite to the contrary.
The head of department and administrative staff have all been absolutely helpful; I have complete autonomy on course design and content; I have had NO problems with (among other) the library's educational film division, and the academic staff/faculty have not been unhelpful. In fact, I have very little interaction with them. One or two have become personal friends, but the rest just seem to ignore me and get on with their own work.
I have the most exceptional relationship with my students; I start from the position of having respect for them, and that I am there to teach and listen to them, that they are adults with an interest in society.
The problems I do have are personal. I have reached the conclusion that I should not have done this PhD, and that I should not be looking for a job in Academia. Although I did the PhD for deeply personal reasons (South Africa's department of coloured affairs rejected and I had to show those motherfuckers that I could do it) it seems like I am "unhirable" because of my age and lack of publications. I started and finished the PhD in my 40s after many years as a journalist and other things... Oh, and then there is the thing about my being a post-positivist and a Marxist; getting a position in a country where "political science" is based on very, very mainstream methods seems impossible.
So... to recap, other than the fact that I am in credit card debt for the first time in my life (and it sucks), I have no complaints about being an adjunct.
Ismail
Aluta Continua!