reviewed by Silvia Foti

For those who are skeptical of any one book’s ability to help adjuncts organize to improve their working conditions in higher education, Reclaiming the Ivory Tower may provide hope. While author Joe Berry doesn’t promise an easy path, he provides a reliable map and points out obstacles that adjuncts might meet when confronting administration. All adjuncts should read Reclaiming the Ivory Tower, not just so they can link with the cause (if they are lucky enough to be working at a college that already has a union for adjuncts), but also so they can be mentally ready to join such a movement, should one be formed nearby.

According to the back cover, “Reclaiming the Ivory Tower is the first organizing handbook for contingent faculty—the thousands of non-tenure track college teachers who love their work but hate their jobs. It examines the situation of adjunct professors in U.S. higher education and puts forward an agenda around which they can mobilize to transform their jobs and their institutions.” The contents of the book deliver on this promise by offering case studies of the Chicago experience, lessons learned in adjunct unionization, and concrete strategies for how to form a union.

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