The news, released in the run-up to Monday’s inauguration, that Illinois’s new governor, J.B. Pritzker, will be doubling the salaries of his top aides with money from his own pocket brought to mind a few things I heard at the MLA convention, held here in Chicago earlier this month. Well, right after it brought to mind the phrase “banana republic.”
But a couple of big open questions hung over the discussion: How well do online students do in comparison to those who’ve had traditional, in-person teaching? And once a faculty member develops an online course, complete with video lectures, is that course available for someone else (perhaps a contingent employee) to teach?
Addressing an audience of literature and history professors (the American History Association was also convening in Chicago this month), Hayles said she thinks humanists must take the lead on this. Given their past performance—say, on the growth and exploitation of adjunct faculty in their own fields—that doesn’t seem promising. Which brings us back to Governor Pritzker, who’s addressing inequity right off the bat.
