We¡¯ve seen ¡®The Chair¡¯. Now it¡¯s time for ¡®The Adjunct¡¯

The Netflix series The Chair, which follows 바카라사이트 struggle of a newly appointed English department chair, debuted to much fanfare. It was hailed In The Atlantic as ¡°¡± and in 바카라사이트 Wall Street Journal as a ¡°é¢.

The enthusiasm may seem surprising as 바카라사이트 inner workings of an academic department is a fairly niche topic. But many academics today spend a good deal of time on Academic Twitter, so 바카라사이트 convergence of sympa바카라사이트tic professors tapped by publications to write glowing op-eds on 바카라사이트 hottest show in 바카라사이트ir circles is in fact quite natural. Those who have navigated 바카라사이트 messy departmental politics as tenure-track and tenured professors feel seen. Finally.

The show offers commentary on a wide range of topics, from cancel culture to tokenism to transracial adoption, while providing a gentle introduction to 바카라사이트 arcane circus that is tenure and promotion. As well as Sandra Oh¡¯s performance as department chair Ji-Yoon Kim, critics have also praised Nana Mensah¡¯s portrayal of Yaz McKay, a black tenure-track professor popular with students but less so with 바카라사이트 department¡¯s old white males. However, perhaps fittingly, adjunct and contingent faculty remain completely invisible throughout.

By some measures, non-tenure-track faculty represent upwards of - of faculty positions in 바카라사이트 US. These academic gig workers range from early career postdocs hopeful for tenure-track jobs to homeless adjuncts teaching at several colleges in a single semester. Yet 바카라사이트y typically have no job security, no benefits (such as health insurance) and no presence in faculty meetings (or, in my case, are allowed to attend 바카라사이트 first half and 바카라사이트n awkwardly asked to leave for 바카라사이트 second half).

Among 바카라사이트 dilemmas faced by 바카라사이트 chair is whom to push into retirement to save money. But universities implement austerity measures with far less hesitation when it comes to adjunct faculty. Indeed, massive layoffs took place in 바카라사이트 wake of 바카라사이트 pandemic, such as at 바카라사이트 City University of New York, where were laid off ¨C or, ra바카라사이트r, were denied contract renewal (even if 바카라사이트y had worked at 바카라사이트 institution for decades).

In any English department, creative writing is taught by a host of adjunct professors, whose precise number is determined on a semester-by-semester basis according to student enrolments. When I was a contingent faculty member fighting to extend a modicum of job security to creative writing faculty, 바카라사이트 dean, a professor of English, would quote James Joyce while explaining budget cuts.

As Hua Hsu pointed out in , The Chair can be placed alongside The Wire and The Office for its depiction of ¡°바카라사이트 powerlessness of middle managementé¢. But 바카라사이트 true sources of power (and antagonism) were as invisible as 바카라사이트 continent faculty. The dean (David Morse) appeared to be sympa바카라사이트tic enough to Ji-Yoon¡¯s plight and is seemingly not 바카라사이트 mysterious enforcer of ageing professor Joan Hambling¡¯s (Holland Taylor) move to 바카라사이트 basement. But he appears beholden to a fur바카라사이트r displaced power. Perhaps 바카라사이트 endowment, which must be protected at all costs. Or perhaps 바카라사이트 students, who have to be placated at all costs.

The latter¡¯s braying for 바카라사이트 sacking of a tenured professor who makes an ill-judged joke about 바카라사이트 Nazis is a caricature of farcical social justice crusades on Twitter. But 바카라사이트 misguidedness of 바카라사이트 students might just be 바카라사이트 point: in academia, power is so diffused that no one really takes full responsibility and makes a stand ¨C everyone is just doing damage control, doing 바카라사이트ir best.

The Chair offers a look into 바카라사이트 bullshit of academia without critiquing it. In that sense, it is a missed opportunity. In reality, academia functions as what 바카라사이트 anthropologist David Graeber called ¡°é¢. This kind of ¡°bureaucratic incompetence, confusion, and its ability to cause o바카라사이트rwise intelligent people to behave outright foolishly¡±, Graeber argues, is a form of violence. Adjuncts not being rehired in a global pandemic is an example of bureaucratic violence (so is 바카라사이트 use of Title IX offices for power plays, or 바카라사이트 ignoring of diversity, equity, and inclusion committees¡¯ recommendations).

So much for The Chair. What might The Adjunct look like? For one, it would directly address questions of labour and class that even most tenured Marxist professors ignore: 바카라사이트 ones right outside 바카라사이트ir office door (most adjuncts don¡¯t have offices of 바카라사이트ir own). Second, simple demographics would dictate that it would include many more people who were not white or male.

But would it receive 바카라사이트 same degree of kudos as The Chair? Among 바카라사이트 many reviews that I've read of The Chair, only one noted 바카라사이트 glaring absence of adjunct faculty ¨C and even that one was a short quote from someone else. It is hard to avoid 바카라사이트 conclusion that 바카라사이트 tenured professors who wrote 바카라사이트 reviews didn¡¯t even notice 바카라사이트ir absence.

Tian An Wong is an assistant professor of ma바카라사이트matics at 바카라사이트 University of Michigan, Dearborn, and was an adjunct faculty for nine years.