The "new beginnings" trope is not just for the re-named/re-imagined precarious faculty Tumblr but for the other two in the stable, including this one. I'll be getting back into gear and jump starting with more stories...different kinds. Not all will be from or about adjuncts. I might even change the name from "Adjunct Stories" to "Stories for Adjuncts" or something else. Image © USA Today College
Our stories are complex and heartbreaking and important. Let's keep sharing. Labor won't be ignored.
Seth Kahn originally shared: Yesterday I shared +Amy Lynch-Biniek's blog post on being one of the lucky ones--a qualified faculty member who landed in a tenure-track job instead of…. The flipside of Amy's story is here. +Jessica Lawless tells a tale that's sad, hopeful, unique in the details but all too ordinary in its plot line.
If you're one of those people whose immediate reaction is to respond with "Yeah, but," just don't. I'm sick of hearing it.
With some reservations, I agree with COCAL XI's "not PLUM but pillars" message ~ trading out "poor little unfortunate me" for "adjuncts as pillars of higher ed." Too many adjunct misery stories are not our best media foot forward but am also convinced that bearing witness means telling all the stories (and, for crying out loud, not letting higher ed media tell us what to tell or tell our stories for us). Besides, what kind of real strength does a pillar have when it can be taken out so easily? "Pillars" is uncomfortably reminiscent of Victorian "pedestals" for women.