all i can think when i read this is how INHUMANE this is. You aren't asking for much -- just some predictability and job security which is really the bare minimum that people need in life. This is life in America today for so many people.
Yes! And like I say here, it is by no means the worst labor situation, but it’s very bad, and so indicative of larger flaws in public education that affect all teachers—and students!
Thank you for this transparent, necessary essay. The more I learn about the adjuncting the more I realize that it’s basically the same as freelancing. A friend of mine adjuncts here in NYC at three prominent colleges making around $3k per class. One time we calculated how much that means per hour and we realized I made more money folding yoga pants at lululemon (plus health care and job stability!). The system is fucking broken. Love you always.
I am so happy for you that you're able to make the transition, even though I'm sure it means grieving many things (students, among others.) I had to give up the professorship dream in 2016 when I immigrated to the US and realized that maternity leave was non existent, and daycare, $3000+ per month in our area. At that level, it's not a hustle anymore: it's sacrificial. Kudos to you for pushing through and making it work. May the future holds nothing but more peace and many successes.
And I didn’t even get into mat leave here—you’re so right, it’s a huge problem. For both of my children I had no mat leave (for my second, I got a bit from CA state, but nothing from my employer, even though I had accrued hundreds of sick hours that couldn’t be used).
Gosh, what a nightmare. I'm so sorry it happened to you. We tend to brush it off and try to forget, but then when you start asking around, the horror stories keep piling up. It's such a disastrous (and traumatizing) shame.
"I am also well aware that we are living in an era in which writing has become a kind of multi-level marketing scheme, in which writers sell each other the dream of authorship." This is it exactly--and why I am mostly not trying to publish anything or teach anything and just keep putting half-finished pieces in a drawer for later.
I truly hope that our educational system can be reformed such that teachers are paid according to the inherently important nature of what they do - bringing forth people. I also hope and trust your space here will grow exponentially so you never need to worry about insurance et al again.
In my role as full time faculty I hire many adjunct instructors and they are key to our learners’ success. I always start my interviews with transparency about the work & pay and I advocate for more full time roles (finally got one!) but it still feels so wrong to be participating in this shitty system that devalues my colleagues.
great piece, A <3 On creativity as a "mass condition," this thread from Ana Kinsella is great - on an engaged public + public support for artist growth
why are Irish authors so good at writing and publishing books atm? I've got some thoughts!
3:37 AM · Nov 27, 2023
·
385.6K
Views
Ana Kinsella
@anakinsella
·
Nov 27
First: The role of state support really can’t be understated. The Arts Council’s main literary bursary is intended to buy time to write. Last night Paul Lynch says he received 2 of these while working on Prophet Song. There are also other funding sources, way more than in the UK
Ana Kinsella
@anakinsella
·
Nov 27
But support is far more than just bursaries - it's funding for magazines to seek out new writers and support them, to run events, classes, and of course vital resource organisations like the Irish Writers Centre 🙏🏻
Ana Kinsella
@anakinsella
·
Nov 27
All that speaks to something broader: An engaged reading public. This is what struck me most on moving back after 12 years in UK. People are reading and discussing books all the time! and it’s not just a soft-hands class-related pursuit the way it’s sometimes shown in UK media
Ana Kinsella
@anakinsella
·
Nov 27
I remember reading (prob on twitter) that British publishers often imagine a typical reader - mid-20s woman, Russell Group uni, home counties, commutes to work with a book/kindle in her bookshop tote bag.
Ana Kinsella
@anakinsella
·
Nov 27
I just don’t think that kind of stereotype exists here in the same way. I think ‘the typical reader’ here could be any age, background, education, political beliefs, etc. I see this when I use my local library
Ana Kinsella
@anakinsella
·
Nov 27
(ot but also why I hate hate hate ‘they didn’t loot bookshops’ from last week’s RTE news coverage)
Ana Kinsella
@anakinsella
·
Nov 27
So why is that? I think that the role of the state in encouraging literature is key. It means books aren’t only a commercial thing, that you don’t have to play to the market necessarily to publish and have a career as an author. That changes things for the book-buying public.
Ana Kinsella
@anakinsella
·
Nov 27
I interviewed a very prominent Irish historian last week who told me how gratifying it is to have this reading public: people might not always like what you’re writing, but they’re certainly reading it
Ana Kinsella
@anakinsella
·
Nov 27
And while it didn’t win last night, I think the Bee Sting is good example of this. I can't remember a time where so many people around seem to be reading and having opinions on this one book (haven't read Prophet Song yet, it's next on my list!)
Ana Kinsella
@anakinsella
·
Nov 27
It’s not 'virtue signalling' or trying to show off your literary taste or class position on social media. It’s just a great, eminently readable book about an Irish family, that readers are finding gripping. And it was written with financial support from the Arts Council.
“ I think that the role of the state in encouraging literature is key. It means books aren’t only a commercial thing, that you don’t have to play to the market necessarily to publish and have a career as an author. That changes things for the book-buying public.” !!
I mean, exactly!! The lack of public funding for arts and education (and mental health!) is so key to understanding the American attention economy, content creation, publishing, and how they’re all converging.
Amen to all of this and thank you for writing it! I was a freeway flyer adjunct in the DC area for five years, when our kids were small. The stress of getting from campus to campus was tremendous. I loved my time in the classroom, but at one point I was teaching more undergrads in my subfield than any other faculty member (including tenured and tenure-track) for the robust sum of $9,000 that semester. That is some bullshit.
Truly. And I don’t think the average person understands just how many hours it takes to teach one class with care— or that this 9k (high for one class!) is for 1/2 the year, ie annualized income of 18k because it’s so hard time find work in the summers.
Oh the 9k was for 2 classes lmao—but two sections of Intro (55 each section) and one upper level class of 45. No TA. Just me. And the college pegged salary to “preps” not # of sections taught, so…yeah.
all i can think when i read this is how INHUMANE this is. You aren't asking for much -- just some predictability and job security which is really the bare minimum that people need in life. This is life in America today for so many people.
Yes! And like I say here, it is by no means the worst labor situation, but it’s very bad, and so indicative of larger flaws in public education that affect all teachers—and students!
Thank you for this transparent, necessary essay. The more I learn about the adjuncting the more I realize that it’s basically the same as freelancing. A friend of mine adjuncts here in NYC at three prominent colleges making around $3k per class. One time we calculated how much that means per hour and we realized I made more money folding yoga pants at lululemon (plus health care and job stability!). The system is fucking broken. Love you always.
Omg yes sad but true
I am so happy for you that you're able to make the transition, even though I'm sure it means grieving many things (students, among others.) I had to give up the professorship dream in 2016 when I immigrated to the US and realized that maternity leave was non existent, and daycare, $3000+ per month in our area. At that level, it's not a hustle anymore: it's sacrificial. Kudos to you for pushing through and making it work. May the future holds nothing but more peace and many successes.
So true— sacrificial is a much better word for it. Thank you Ariane.
And I didn’t even get into mat leave here—you’re so right, it’s a huge problem. For both of my children I had no mat leave (for my second, I got a bit from CA state, but nothing from my employer, even though I had accrued hundreds of sick hours that couldn’t be used).
Gosh, what a nightmare. I'm so sorry it happened to you. We tend to brush it off and try to forget, but then when you start asking around, the horror stories keep piling up. It's such a disastrous (and traumatizing) shame.
"I am also well aware that we are living in an era in which writing has become a kind of multi-level marketing scheme, in which writers sell each other the dream of authorship." This is it exactly--and why I am mostly not trying to publish anything or teach anything and just keep putting half-finished pieces in a drawer for later.
Oof I feel that response. AND making and sharing art and education are all still vital and possible!
I have a writing group that meets on Zoom once or twice a month and it is very lovely--fully outside the marketplace. <3
Amazing!
I truly hope that our educational system can be reformed such that teachers are paid according to the inherently important nature of what they do - bringing forth people. I also hope and trust your space here will grow exponentially so you never need to worry about insurance et al again.
Subscribed :) I value you & your work.
In my role as full time faculty I hire many adjunct instructors and they are key to our learners’ success. I always start my interviews with transparency about the work & pay and I advocate for more full time roles (finally got one!) but it still feels so wrong to be participating in this shitty system that devalues my colleagues.
great piece, A <3 On creativity as a "mass condition," this thread from Ana Kinsella is great - on an engaged public + public support for artist growth
https://twitter.com/anakinsella/status/1729056936312922326
Darn I don’t think I can read it because I don’t have a Twitter account anymore!
awful site!
here:
why are Irish authors so good at writing and publishing books atm? I've got some thoughts!
3:37 AM · Nov 27, 2023
·
385.6K
Views
Ana Kinsella
@anakinsella
·
Nov 27
First: The role of state support really can’t be understated. The Arts Council’s main literary bursary is intended to buy time to write. Last night Paul Lynch says he received 2 of these while working on Prophet Song. There are also other funding sources, way more than in the UK
Ana Kinsella
@anakinsella
·
Nov 27
But support is far more than just bursaries - it's funding for magazines to seek out new writers and support them, to run events, classes, and of course vital resource organisations like the Irish Writers Centre 🙏🏻
Ana Kinsella
@anakinsella
·
Nov 27
All that speaks to something broader: An engaged reading public. This is what struck me most on moving back after 12 years in UK. People are reading and discussing books all the time! and it’s not just a soft-hands class-related pursuit the way it’s sometimes shown in UK media
Ana Kinsella
@anakinsella
·
Nov 27
I remember reading (prob on twitter) that British publishers often imagine a typical reader - mid-20s woman, Russell Group uni, home counties, commutes to work with a book/kindle in her bookshop tote bag.
Ana Kinsella
@anakinsella
·
Nov 27
I just don’t think that kind of stereotype exists here in the same way. I think ‘the typical reader’ here could be any age, background, education, political beliefs, etc. I see this when I use my local library
Ana Kinsella
@anakinsella
·
Nov 27
(ot but also why I hate hate hate ‘they didn’t loot bookshops’ from last week’s RTE news coverage)
Ana Kinsella
@anakinsella
·
Nov 27
So why is that? I think that the role of the state in encouraging literature is key. It means books aren’t only a commercial thing, that you don’t have to play to the market necessarily to publish and have a career as an author. That changes things for the book-buying public.
Ana Kinsella
@anakinsella
·
Nov 27
I interviewed a very prominent Irish historian last week who told me how gratifying it is to have this reading public: people might not always like what you’re writing, but they’re certainly reading it
Ana Kinsella
@anakinsella
·
Nov 27
And while it didn’t win last night, I think the Bee Sting is good example of this. I can't remember a time where so many people around seem to be reading and having opinions on this one book (haven't read Prophet Song yet, it's next on my list!)
Ana Kinsella
@anakinsella
·
Nov 27
It’s not 'virtue signalling' or trying to show off your literary taste or class position on social media. It’s just a great, eminently readable book about an Irish family, that readers are finding gripping. And it was written with financial support from the Arts Council.
“ I think that the role of the state in encouraging literature is key. It means books aren’t only a commercial thing, that you don’t have to play to the market necessarily to publish and have a career as an author. That changes things for the book-buying public.” !!
I mean, exactly!! The lack of public funding for arts and education (and mental health!) is so key to understanding the American attention economy, content creation, publishing, and how they’re all converging.
Amen to all of this and thank you for writing it! I was a freeway flyer adjunct in the DC area for five years, when our kids were small. The stress of getting from campus to campus was tremendous. I loved my time in the classroom, but at one point I was teaching more undergrads in my subfield than any other faculty member (including tenured and tenure-track) for the robust sum of $9,000 that semester. That is some bullshit.
Truly. And I don’t think the average person understands just how many hours it takes to teach one class with care— or that this 9k (high for one class!) is for 1/2 the year, ie annualized income of 18k because it’s so hard time find work in the summers.
Oh the 9k was for 2 classes lmao—but two sections of Intro (55 each section) and one upper level class of 45. No TA. Just me. And the college pegged salary to “preps” not # of sections taught, so…yeah.