Hi there.
My name's Chris, and I'm a hectic academic.
What's that mean? To answer this question, let me tell you about myself. I once taught thirty-one communications first-years for two hours, discussing neoliberalism through pie and cake references, during a winter thunderstorm, in a room with a malfunctioning heater. If I can capture their attention, I'm sure I can hold yours for a few minutes.
My academic journey began with an undergraduate course in 2009, blossoming into Honours in 2012, then a PhD in 2013, graduating in 2016. As a scholar, I'm an Early Career Researcher (ECR), meaning I'm within the first five years of my doctorate. I'm thus still in the process of breaking into my field, publishing my work, and establishing my academic street cred.
As a teacher, I mentored my first undergraduate class in 2014. I was exceedingly nervous in the same way the Atlantic Ocean is exceedingly wet. I fell into this role through the grace of a generous senior colleague who tapped me on the shoulder to fill in at short notice, taking over an all-years comms elective on bodily theory; topics on gender, fitness, disability, death, and sex. This was not my main research area in the slightest. Much as I was keen to teach, I was also terrified of the thought that I would be in charge of the intellectual wellbeing of twenty-eight fastidiously-prepared young adults for two hours a week, over thirteen weeks of semester, to say nothing of that wellbeing relying on asking those young adults to talk about how they experience illness, sex and the prospect of death (in hindsight, it was a pretty hardcore subject).
Somehow, though, I managed to stumble my way through the semester, gradually building teaching strength in my wobbly, newborn colt legs and finishing with a gallop. My first class ended stonkingly (likely helped by all the cookies I baked for my students), and I knew I wanted more.
Since then, I haven't stopped.
For five years now, I've worked at six major universities across Australia and New Zealand. I've tutored, Head Tutored, lectured and coordinated students of all year groups, in a ton of subjects within communications and media. I tend to teach in 3 subjects a semester, with a total of 6-7 tutorials (this past Autumn I did 4 subjects with 8 tutorials because I am a mad person), and sometimes I get lucky with some lectures thrown in there too. Factoring in actual tute and lecture face-time, answering emails, planning classes, student consultations and subject reading prep, I'm usually doing 30-35 hours a week during semester. That number obviously increases quite a bit when marking mountains drop in the middle of each subject.
I work within an environment of precarious labour. My work is not guaranteed each semester, meaning I have to essentially ask coordinators every few months if they've got tutorials I can take over. Most of the time I get lucky because I know full-time folks who'll help whenever they can by offering classwork. The rest of the time, things can get dicey. Despite what some might tell you, there are relatively few long-term benefits to casual employment, especially when it comes to security and financial stability. In fact, sometimes, being a casual academic can be a fairly demoralising gig - and I do mean "gig" in every sense of the word.
As I sit on this poolside recliner of academic venting that I'm about to spend the next however-long lying upon, I'd like to prop a nice big umbrella above it before we really get started. That umbrella goes thus: I love teaching. I really do. I consider myself a teaching academic first and foremost, enjoying sharing knowledge and prepping the next generation with all that I'm learning. Obviously as an academic I have to do my own research publishing too - and I'll surely discuss those pitfalls later - but the true joy of my work comes from time spent each week with twenty-eight fresh-faced students getting ready for their next steps (even if only a few of those twenty-eight fresh-faces are listening after the first tutorial).
I also want to state that I've been incredibly lucky for those five years. I know some good, good people who've been generous with opportunities for me, many of which I know aren't afforded to others. These are folks who are fellow casuals and full-timers both, who understand the precarity of the situation I and so many others face daily. If it weren't for the people I've met who support me with their words and deeds, I'd have quit a long time ago.
Or, rather, I'd have stayed quit. Because I did quit, for twenty-four hours. I'll talk about that some other time.
You need to understand that I'm coming from a place of passion for the work I do. It's not always glamorous, but it is rewarding. It's not always fun, but it is satisfying (usually). It's not always easy - in fact, let's get real, it's rarely easy - but it's what I've chosen to do. And really, I'm good at it. That realisation took me a long time (and I'll, also, discuss it in more detail another time), but it's one that has guided me for the past few semesters, and continues to do so as I make the next step.
So what can you expect from this blog? Well, for one thing, you can expect me to share my stories, ones that are hopefully relatable even if you've never set foot in a university. There are a lot of pros and cons to walking the tertiary halls of knowledge, and while some of it is really just there for the fellow cazhs toughing it out in the trenches - absurdly high TurnItIn percentages, anyone? - more of it will resonate with those of you dealing with retail, hospitality, office work, and maybe even your lives in general.
You can expect honesty. The stories I'll tell are true (though some names may be changed, giving me a chance to unpack my collection of "names that more people should have in real life"). I'll also bring in other readings I come across that help clarify some of the points I'm making or opinions I'm voicing (for instance, this recent Tweet-thread by Karina Luzia highlights a lot of the deliberations I've been having about my career recently). Ultimately, the perspective I'll give you is my own. Sometimes I will get very, very blunt about it.
Finally, hopefully, you can expect some conversation. This blog is intended to be call-and-response rather than a one-sided broadcast. I would love folks to reach out with their own stories, their own resonances, and their own answers and ideas for the questions I'll pose. One of the biggest drawbacks of the academic game is the inherent loneliness that comes with a lot of the job, both during and after classtime, a facet that's amplified in the casual version of that game. This blog, and casual academia in general, should not be a lonely place.
Oh, and you can expect memes - and because I'm nearing 30, many will incite the cringe.
Welcome to the life of a hectic academic. Let's get through this together.
REFERENCES
Academic Precariat - The Advantages of being a Casual Academic: https://www.floodmedia.org/articles/the-advantages-of-being-a-casual-academic
The Conversation - Casual Academia piece: https://theconversation.com/casual-academics-arent-going-anywhere-so-what-can-universities-do-to-ensure-learning-isnt-affected-113567
Karina Luzia - Tweet-thread on academic career decisions: https://twitter.com/acahacker/status/1145941208620945408
The Rut - Academic Streed Cred image: https://bigeyedeer.wordpress.com/2008/07/15/this-cartoon-wrote-a-sweary-word-on-your-toilet-wall/