AA 52 More Perspectives

I’d like to continue last week’s process of breaking out of my own habitual limits by seeing the topic of adjuncts and writing from other perspectives.

Consider the word from eHow, a popular site devoted to telling people how to do just about everything. eHow offers advice on “How to Become an Adjunct Professor.” This brief article is to the point and useful as far as it goes. It is also honest, noting that you can’t really live on adjunct teaching alone. The author is a composition instructor, freelance writer, and entrepreneur. I make a few observations, some of them snarky. First, I note that no mention of writing is made (big surprise). Second, I note that no mention is made of the relationship between adjunct positions and tenured positions. These seem to exist in different universes. Third, I note that the advice on getting tenure is given by someone who doesn’t have it—and the advice on publishing academic articles and publishing in scientific journals is boilerplate, minimally helpful, and given by an author who does not, as far as I can tell, publish in either. Fourth, I note that a number of my students use eHow as a reference for the content of their essays and for guidance on how to write. Fifth, I note ashamedly the grammar glitches in the materials written by the author of the guide on becoming an adjunct (less the article than other materials).

Consider the word from the Adjunct Law Prof Blog, which points us to the ongoing issue of an applicant for a tenure track position who sued for discrimination in hiring practices when she didn’t get the job. I note that the blogger says, “It is very difficult-close to impossible in fact-to obtain a FT tenure track gig” and that getting a legal writing gig is almost as difficult as the practice professionalizes.  I also note, reluctantly, that this should be “loses” a lawsuit.

Consider the word from Prawfsblawg, a collaborative blog from a number of professors at wildly varying schools around the nation. A recent post there discusses how to become an adjunct professor. Having multiple contributors to the blog helps widen our perspective, as different bloggers point out different ways writing would and wouldn’t count for would be legal adjuncts.

And finally, consider this: this is my 52^nd weekly entry here. That’s a year. In the posts to come, I’ll continue looking outward, but I’ll also look back, to see what I’ve learned in a year of writing this blog.

AA 52 More Perspectives

I’d like to continue last week’s process of breaking out of my own habitual limits by seeing the topic of adjuncts and writing from other perspectives.

Consider the word from eHow, a popular site devoted to telling people how to do just about everything. eHow offers advice on “How to Become an Adjunct Professor.” This brief article is to the point and useful as far as it goes. It is also honest, noting that you can’t really live on adjunct teaching alone. The author is a composition instructor, freelance writer, and entrepreneur. I make a few observations, some of them snarky. First, I note that no mention of writing is made (big surprise). Second, I note that no mention is made of the relationship between adjunct positions and tenured positions. These seem to exist in different universes. Third, I note that the advice on getting tenure is given by someone who doesn’t have it—and the advice on publishing academic articles and publishing in scientific journals is boilerplate, minimally helpful, and given by an author who does not, as far as I can tell, publish in either. Fourth, I note that a number of my students use eHow as a reference for the content of their essays and for guidance on how to write. Fifth, I note ashamedly the grammar glitches in the materials written by the author of the guide on becoming an adjunct (less the article than other materials).

Consider the word from the Adjunct Law Prof Blog, which points us to the ongoing issue of an applicant for a tenure track position who sued for discrimination in hiring practices when she didn’t get the job. I note that the blogger says, “It is very difficult-close to impossible in fact-to obtain a FT tenure track gig” and that getting a legal writing gig is almost as difficult as the practice professionalizes.  I also note, reluctantly, that this should be “loses” a lawsuit.

Consider the word from Prawfsblawg, a collaborative blog from a number of professors at wildly varying schools around the nation. A recent post there discusses how to become an adjunct professor. Having multiple contributors to the blog helps widen our perspective, as different bloggers point out different ways writing would and wouldn’t count for would be legal adjuncts.

And finally, consider this: this is my 52^nd weekly entry here. That’s a year. In the posts to come, I’ll continue looking outward, but I’ll also look back, to see what I’ve learned in a year of writing this blog.