Call for Chapters

Speaking Up, Speaking Out: Lived Experiences of Non Tenure Track Faculty in Writing Studies

In 2016, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) reported that in 2014, non-tenured, full time faculty were 16.73% of academic labor while part-time educators were 40.93% (AAUP Report, 2016), indicating that non-tenured track faculty (NTTF) have been growing at the rate of 62% of teachers in higher education in the last 40 years. What has been missing from these reports and statistics are a richer understanding of the conditions of NTTF. More widely read higher education articles, such as Inside Higher Ed and The Chronicle of Higher Education, have featured stories that debate the merits and disadvantages of NTTF (Nelson, 2010; Cassuto, 2017), but headlines coming from mainstream media such as The Huffington Post and The Guardian tend to focus on adjuncts living in their cars and dying penniless (Kincaide, 2013) or becoming sex workers to supplement the low wages they make teaching full time (Gee, 2017). These worst-case scenarios are heartbreaking and angering, but are not the only narratives of NTTF. These educators largely remain underrepresented in higher education scholarship. Much research has been devoted to various approaches to integrating NTTF into departments and university culture (Kezar, 2012) and even earlier research has addressed the often contentious relationship between tenure track and non-tenure track lines (Baldwin and Chronister, 2001 ). This proposed book aims to fill the void in the literature by giving voice to the often invisible work of NTTF in rhetoric, composition, and technical writing courses, and to give focus to the broad range of experiences and backgrounds that NTTF bring to their position and classes, as well as their reflections of these professional experiences.

The goal of this collection is to acknowledge the work of NTTF as valued members of the academic community, specifically those in rhetoric, composition, and technical communication. We propose a collection that illuminates the stories of those working in the NTTF trenches; part storytelling, part reflection, part new ways to advocate for the work we do. The editors of this collection welcome 500-word proposals that address experiences and issues of NTTF faculty in rhetoric, composition, technical communication. We particularly welcome proposals that address the following questions:

• What are the visible and invisible responsibilities of NTTF in rhetoric, composition, and/or technical communication positions?
• How might the invisible labor of NTTF impact productivity?
• How do NTTF manage invisible responsibilities to achieve more productivity?
• What does a successful NTTF look like considering both visible and invisible labor?
• In what ways do you incorporate cultural practices into your work?
• How important is it to be true to your cultural practices as a NTTF member?
• How might outside groups or resources help NTTF maintain cultural practices?
• How do NTTF balance departmental values and assumptions?
• How might a disconnect between personal and departmental values impact NTTF choices?
• How might race, ability, class, or sexuality shape NTTF experiences?
• What are some outside motivators that influence NTTF decision-making?
• What are some strategies that NTTF have employed to navigate heavy teaching and service loads, and personal lives?
• What are some strategies that have helped NTTF develop a presence in their department and on-campus?

The deadline for proposals is May 15, 2018. Please attach submissions as a Word file and email to Jessica Edwards (edwardsj@udel.edu), Meg McGuire (mmcguire@udel.edu), and Rachel Sanchez (rachel_sanchez@wsu.edu). You will receive a decision about your abstract by July 15, 2018, with chapters due (tentatively) by October 15, 2018.

We welcome questions about ideas in advance of submission deadlines.

Jessica Edwards, University of Delaware

Meg McGuire, University of Delaware

Rachel Sanchez, Washington State University