At 03:17 PM 6/13/2012, Jordan Hayes wrote:
>>Most of academia right now consists of tomato pickers.
>>Temporary workers with no benefits and no security.
>>And an overwhelming amount of work.
>
>The bust of a pyramid scheme, of course. Those near the top have it much
>better than those at the bottom. It's always seemed to me that it was
>incredibly rare for someone to get a job teaching at a school that ranks
>better than the one they graduated from. A race to the bottom, no?
>
>/jordan
absolutely true. You always go to a school one tier below the one from which you graduated - unless you come from the top three where you may move on to one of the other top three. it's rare to stay in your tier or move up. that usually happens after significant effort on your part.
not a lot of time but I will say a couple of things.
thanks to Carl for remembering the name of Cary Nelson.
To Jordan: for me, way back when, an academic job was access to stuff I didn't have otherwise: internet connection, free library resources, photocopy machine, office space, desk & review copies. (Mada a shitload selling my review copies a few years ago. Those suckers could bring in some cash! Especially if you teach methods courses. ha)
Pretty much agree with Jeffrey about academia and non-academia ("business"). Not just personal observation, but it's not empirically supported. ALL professions are based on rituals of deference and demeanor primarily, about status seeking, etc. It's not more worse in academia than elsewhere.
And lord, my experience as an adjunct totally contrary to Michael's. I was totally left alone to do whatever the hell I wanted, almost everyone was excellent and nice to me - helpful, willing to mentor, etc. No dean or chair ever cared what I did in the classroom.