In his recent article “The Last Professor” (NY Times, Jan 09), Stanley Fish outlines the current state of affairs in the Academy. Drawing on the recently published The Corporate University and the Fate of the Humanities (Fordham UP, 2008) by Frank Donoghue, Fish writes of the promotion of corporate values in learning, the shrinking number of tenure-stream positions within the Academy (currently 35% in the US), and the expendability of professors who, within the model of the for-profit university, are simple “delivery people” rather than individuals who, after many years of study and research, inspire students and foster insight. Hidden Academics: Contract Faculty in Canadian Universities (University of Toronto Press, 2002) by Indhu Rajagopal paints a similar picture within the Canadian context. “Rooms Without A View”, the working title for an anthology exploring the experience of working on contract within Academia in the current historical moment, seeks creative submissions in the forms of short stories, poetry, or creative essay. This collection of creative writing documenting and describing the current social and historical moment of the Academy will be accompanied by a critical introduction which analytically frames the collection.

Submission Guidelines:

Short stories and creative essays: 3000-5000 words
Poems: any length
Format: word file with the genre of your submission in the entry line

Please submit by June 1st to Rita Gagliano and Lisa Fiorindi at r_gagliano@earthlink.net and lisa_fiorindi@yahoo.ca