A few weeks ago, I published an essay on Salon arguing that the precarious nature of my employment as an adjunct professor contributes to my success in the classroom. The response to the piece was sharp and swift: I was criticized in the site’s comments section for not checking my privilege. To date, there have been 61 comments; roughly 85 percent of them are negative.
I had neglected, according to the hordes of commenters, to disclose that I am a part of a two-income household. This, they claimed, must be the only way that I could afford to be so cavalier about my own job stability; either that, or I must be independently wealthy. Therefore, they argued, my situation is unlike that of most adjunct professors and thus irrelevant to the conversation.
I had assumed that there were shared understandings about how badly adjuncts are generally treated, regardless of the social privileges they may otherwise enjoy. I had forgotten how sanctimonious many academics can be, even those of low status, like me.
[For more of this story, written by Elisabeth Fairfield Stokes, go to https://psmag.com/the-danger-o...f75434775#.cug35onm6]
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