Ending Adjunct Apartheid

Abstract

As has been well-documented, adjuncts, who often live beneath the poverty line, lack adequate financial compensation and job security for the work they do. What is not normally focused on is the way the apartheid structure of academe, which severs the adjunct from institutional support and protection, violates the core mission of academe. Academics are defined not as employees, but as professionals, and offered academic freedom because the larger society understands that their unfettered pursuit of knowledge leads to the betterment of humankind. This paper argues that academe, according to its own standards, is obligated to provide adjuncts, many of whom are independent scholars, far greater professional support and protection. The paper also explores empathy towards adjuncts and ways to overcome adjunct separation.