shout out to #adjunct #trailblazers: @AndrewR_Physics #EMUFT @3rdLWW

…there are more "adjunct trail blazers" to shout out...and we will try to do just that. To mention just a few, both Annette M. Rodriguez' #WeAreNNMC (also dba @Alacranita) and the UA Convergence campaigns are models for aspiring adjunct activist groups Covered extensively, they deserve separate overview posts…time/energy permitting, they will get them.

In the meantime, the precarious faculty network would like The three in the title recently hit my digital field of vision windshield recently: here's a quick shout out plus links for you to follow and support them. PS there's a video at the end...for dessert.

• Andrew Robinson faces obstacles and a long fight as the first Carleton University contract instructor to try to convert to a FT position per Clause 27.3 of the Collective Agreement. Since applying, administration has isolated him from the department by threatening a TT line. Andrew writes, ❝If I can establish a precedent, then others will be able to follow at our university, but I expect max resistance.❞ He will persevere. We can support him by following and commenting on his blog (also on our blogroll) and @AndrewR_Physics on Twitter

who needs a liberal education?

Eric Hartman (Kansas State) and Antoinette Hertel (St. Joseph’s): Clearer Thinkers, Better People? Unpacking Assumptions in Liberal Education. Who needs a liberal education? Gilbert Meilaender on why we should stop pretending that the liberal arts are important frosting on the cake of an education that is in fact designed for other purposes. 

An excerpt from Beyond the University: Why Liberal Education Matters by Michael Roth. Why Scott Samuelson teaches Plato to plumbers: Liberal arts and the humanities aren't just for the elite. The humanities aren't obscure, arcane or irrelevant — they awaken our souls, influence how we think about inequality, and help us adapt to a changing world. 

re-blogged from who needs a liberal education? - bookforum.com / omnivore ~ head on over and read the rest there

Sunday Matinee Sampler: #adjunct videos & music + @doctorow on computing

… short videos from the precarious faculty playlist on YouTube and Cory Doctorow on general computing issues relevant to anyone spending time on a personal computer or even just using computerized devices to read, listen to music, get directions, etc...if not now then someday soon.

Adjunct videos are selected with an eye to worthies that merit more eyeballs and reruns of oldies, seen by many but not recently. Bill Lipkin gave me the idea for this when he recently shared the first selection, unawares that it was not a new release, and then wondered how he missed it. Missing videos (and more) on the tubz is easy. Sunday Matinees are ideal for catching up with them, as we did with Barbara Wolf's A Simple Matter of Justice series.

What's it like being an adjunct college professor? Published by Professor Staff, January 30, 2014

Keeping calm, regrouping

A good chunk of today went to making the best of an inadvertent ending, but the effort also folded into shaping/ reorganization for Connected Courses  (more here). Instead of "developing networked, open courses that embody the principles of connected learning and the values of the open web," I want to develop my motley collection of blogs, social media, curation/aggregation pages, whatever, into an open information network that incorporates the principles of connected learning and the values of the open web ~ not a course but still for learning.

Intending to delete a duplicated back-up blog on Tumblr, I instead deleted my main account along with associated blogs ~ adjunct, local, personal, special interest~ some more active than others. From the now extinct dashboard, I managed Precarity Dispatches, Adjunct Stories, COCAL Updates and recently re-purposed Equity in Diversity (still finding its way). The last two are gone for good, as explained elsewhere.

Panic beckoned until I remembered that 1-2 (not sure which) had originated on and still be on another account (tl;dr) ... if I could remember the account name, which email address created under and find the password, all of  which I eventually managed. Since this was more like an emergency restart to keep on going than a "new beginning," could I call it an "old beginning"?

The inventory is uneven, incomplete ~ in progress. Nor are all either exclusively "precarity centric" or with an advocacy focus but all are interest related. 

What does #NetNeutrality have to do with #adjunct & other precarious worker activists?

…yes, today is the day…a good day to take on corporate interests, stand up for open, connected learning and keep the internet open and affordable for activism and the activist networks using it to connect activists, build grassroots networks, coordinate actions and inform/educate the public. I hope that answers the why question

As adapted from Fight for the Future's September 4, 2014, Battle for the Internet letter:

The Internet Slowdown, the net neutrality protest planned for today September 10th is taking off. As of September 4, a dozen of the world’s largest websites announced that they’re joining in a big way. Sites you know and use like Etsy, Kickstarter, Wordpress, Vimeo, Mozilla, Namecheap, Foursquare, imgur, and reddit (and surely more by now). Will you join too?

Everyone has a role in the Internet Slowdown. Click here to find out what YOU can do

Evan Greer at Fight for the Future wrote