Abstract
Bruce Horner’s seminal book, Terms of Work for Composition: A Materialist Critique provided Comp-Rhet WPAs with a methodology for infusing our conversations about work and labor with a holistic understanding of how these reflect on the lived experiences of students, teachers and administrators. Drawing on empirical data including surveys of contingent faculty at a large northeastern research university, as well as textual analysis of teaching material and an NCTE position statement, I propose the inclusion of a materialist-oriented conceptualization of time to the discussion began by Horner and others. Using the lens of how time is allocated, I argue for a wider understanding of the separations between how institutions and contingent teaching faculty (including graduate teaching assistants) view the importance of their labor, and discuss implications for curricular and departmental design.
Recommended Citation
Priest, Jesse
(2018)
"Terms of Time for Composition: A Materialist Examination of Contingent Faculty Labor,"
Academic Labor: Research and Artistry: Vol. 2, Article 5.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/alra/vol2/iss1/5
Included in
Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons, Higher Education Administration Commons, Rhetoric and Composition Commons
Publication-Ready Author Bio
Jesse Priest directs the New Mexico Tech Writing Center and teaches courses in college writing and technical communication. His research interests focus on Writing Center Studies, as well as the relationship between academic knowledge and public engagement, particularly with regard to how scientists talk to people outside of their disciplines. He is also interested in writing assessment and composition pedagogy.