Late Farewell to Invisible Adjunct

Thanks to The Menagerie, I just learned that the Invisible Adjunct ceased blogging over a month ago. As this great article in the Chronicle indicates, the Invisible Adjunct had attracted a huge readership, so it's really a shame to see her go. I certainly understand a choice to leave academia; it sounds like the IA experienced most or all of the negative developments that currently threaten to destroy higher education as we've come to know it in the U.S., so it's hard to question her decision to leave that dysfunctional sinking ship.

Yet, her decision to close down the blog seems like another matter. Not everyone can claim to get 18,000 readers a month on any topic, let alone the relatively obscure topic of the plight of adjuncts in higher education. After all the work she put into it, it certainly would have been nice if the IA could have done something to turn her blog into some sort of positive catalyst for change in academia. Perhaps she could have passed the reins to another adjunct, or passed the domain to a collective of adjuncts who could continue the discussion of issues adjuncts face, as well as perhaps begin organizing adjuncts to start standing up to the almost criminally negligent tenured faculty whose relative professional success only remains possible because of the sacrifices made by adjuncts. Yeah, that would have been nice. But hey, what do I know?

Here's what I know: I wish the Invisible Adjunct all the success in the world in her future endeavors and I hope to see a book about her experiences very soon. I'll definitely buy a copy.

Posted May 1, 2004 08:19 AM | meta-blogging