Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Date of Award

Spring 2026

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

<--Please Select Department-->

College

College of Education

First Advisor

Gonzalo Obelleiro

Abstract

This currere explores my experiences as part-time contingent faculty working at multiple institutions (a so-called freeway flyer). Covering the years from 2005-2015, the regressive mode draws from my experiences teaching writing composition and literature at a community college, arts college, and three religious universities. A central impetus for this exploration is a desire to understand the ways I was socialized by these institutions and how that socialization shaped my understanding of my identity within and through my status as contingent faculty. Higher education (especially first-year writing programs) has become dependent on contingent faculty. The increased reliance on part-time contingent faculty follows a trend that has existed from the 1970s. Yet institutions of higher education often conceive of their educators as a body of tenure-track faculty members.   As a consequence, contingent faculty receive less compensation and frequently have fewer if any benefits than their tenure-track colleagues. This has resulted in the relationship between part-time contingent faculty and institutions of higher education often being presented either as narratives of employee exploitation or of willing consent to lower compensation. This currere attempts to navigate between these competing narratives with nuance while acknowledging the ways I was socialized to and in the role of part-time contingent faculty.

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