Hiring Anthropology Adjuncts: Best and Worst Practices as Seen by the Hirers and the Hired

December 2014 Meeting

Hiring Anthropology Adjuncts: Best and Worst Practices as Seen by the Hirers and the Hired

Anthropology departments in the DC area hire adjunct faculty for a range of different courses at different times. How do they find adjunct faculty? What do they offer adjunct faculty and what do they expect in return? DC area anthropologists use adjunct employment in different ways at different times in their careers. How do they look for adjunct positions? What are their expectations for adjunct employment?  A panel of anthropologists who have worked as adjunct faculty and department representatives who have hired adjunct faculty will discuss these issues with perspectives from their differing anthropology departments in differing higher education institutions in the DC area.

Panel convener, Erik Hanson, is the Undergraduate Advisor and Department Scheduler for the University of Maryland’s Department of Anthropology. In this role, he works with the chair to find, vet, hire, and orient adjunct faculty for 10-20 courses a year. Previously, Erik worked 10 years with the Anthropology publisher, AltaMira Press.

Panelists

Elijah Adiv Edelman holds a PhD in Public Anthropology from American University in Washington, DC. His research, publications and course offerings cover issues of gender and sexuality and class, racial, and LGBT inequality in Washington DC. He currently adjuncts at the University of Maryland-College Park and American University.

Tanya Icaza is a Masters of Applied Anthropology with a focus on the Food & Agricultural Revolution in relationship to the environment. Her interest lies in undergraduate education with an emphasis on integrative teaching techniques that keep students interested in the subject matter while learning to understand their own life experiences within the framework of anthropology. Currently she teaches as an adjunct at Howard Community College and the University of Maryland College Park.

Marilyn London is a Fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, Anthropology Section, and served as Chair of the Section in 2004-2005. She is a Fellow and Past President of the Washington (D.C.) Academy of Sciences. She is an active member of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists. Marilyn serves as a Forensic Anthropologist on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team. In this role, she managed the morgue operation in Somerset, Pennsylvania after United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Marilyn has been teaching as an adjunct the University of Maryland and George Washington University over the last 20 years.