On Humanity in the Humanities: Statement of Guidelines for Job Postings on the DDGC Listserv

We, the members of the DDGC collective, wish to reaffirm our commitment to center the humanity of colleagues placed into contingent precarity at institutions of higher learning. We decry regimes of oppressions that confine and underpin the adjacent disciplines of German studies and German-language teaching. In this post, members of the Ethical Hiring Action Group, together with the members of the DDGC steering committee and 2021 Labor Justice Town Hall Organizing Committee, pledge an ongoing commitment to labor justice. Looking inward at our own practices, we outline a series of considerations and guidelines to take into account when distributing information about available positions on our DDGClistserv.


The Crisis of Humanity in the Humanities
At its heart, the adjunctification and contingency of faculty at institutions of higher learning is becoming a crisis of humanity. Looking into the situation of higher ed faculty, the AAUP noted in 2018 that “the majority of faculty members are contingent workers who work without the protection of tenure.” They identify the percentage of faculty members who are not tenured or tenured track as reaching 73% in 2016. As they note, this overwhelming percentage of contingent, adjunct, and graduate student labor are by the nature of their appointments not granted academic freedom or stability and traditionally are not allowed to participate in conversations or decision-making processes relevant to their own working conditions. 

In addition to these inequities, the AAUP’s 2020 data snapshot highlights how long-lasting disparities adversely affect women faculty and faculty of color. Although women comprise 47% of full-time faculty (as opposed to 32% in 1991), for example, they occupy the majority of non tenure-track appointments. A consideration of salary reveals how the issue encompasses economics, as “salaries for full-time women faculty members are approximately 81.2 percent of men’s with women earning $79,368 and men earning $97,738 on average.” The AAUP’s 2020 report highlights how underrepresentation of faculty hires specifically targets Latinx and Black colleagues through systemic racism(s). Their 2020 inquiry reveals, for example, that Latinx and Black faculty make up a mere 12.9% of full-time appointments although these individuals constitute an estimated 32.6% of the United States population between the ages of 24 and 64. 

These data confirm that now (as ever) is the time to reaffirm the full humanity of all underrepresented and undercompensated colleagues, mentors, and friends in higher educational sectors. 

Reaffirming the Humanity of Job Seekers
Reflecting on the ethics of hiring within this system, we begin with a list of information helpful to candidates perusing job ads. We maintain that listing the following up-front in job ads should be considered the bare minimum. These baseline expectations are inspired by the MLA’s Guidelines for Search Committees and Job Seekers. 

Your job ad should list clear expectations and communication about:

• Required qualifications (i.e., ABD vs. PhD)

• Salary

• Workload

• Teaching load

We recognize that transparency and clear communication are crucial and inform each candidate’s decision-making (whether to apply, what to ask for with an offer, whether to take an offer) regarding the position. While we are aware of administrative guidelines that sometimes prohibit listing all of these items, we encourage search chairs to use the MLA guidelines and this document to push back against such policies. Applying for positions takes a considerable amount of time and resources for applicants, and so up-front, clear, and transparent information is paramount.

On the Positionality of Positions
In addition to transparency, we suggest each hiring committee reflect on their own positions of advocacy as they relate to hiring and contingent labor. We provide further considerations for each point, should this be lacking.

• International Scholars: 

  • Can you sponsor visas, or must employees already have a particular visa status upon beginning the position? 

  • If not, how might your department work to secure visa sponsorship? 

  • Are you aware of the resources (un)available at your institution for international applicants? 

  • Is there a dedicated center where applicants can obtain accurate information and support in the course of a potential move, and to which you would be able to direct them if needed?

• Partners and Children: 

  • What are available partner/spousal career supports at the institution and in the broader community? 

  • Does the university or area offer affordable and accessible childcare? 

  • If not, which collective actions can you advocate for that would provide resources and support needed?

• Cost of Living: 

  • Can a single person (without roommates) reasonably find housing within a commutable distance (accessible through public transit)? 

  • Can the salary support a family? 

  • If not, how will you advocate for the candidate to secure additional funding?

• Benefits, Healthcare, and Accessibility: 

  • Is there adequate healthcare for those with chronic health concerns? 

  • Do dependents have access to healthcare coverage for a reasonable cost? 

  • Are retirement plan contributions matched? / Will the employee hired for this position be fully vested in the retirement plan?

  • Are your campus and the surrounding area accessible? 

  • If not, what could you offer in terms of transportation?

• DEI:

  •  If you are asking for diversity statements from applicants, are the colleagues currently in the department prepared to also share how their own research, teaching, and service activities in the institution and the profession support diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives? 

  • Do the activities of already placed colleagues work to meaningfully improve conditions for scholars, students, staff, and community members from diverse backgrounds (including race, ability, religion, gender identity, sexuality, and economic factors)? 

  • If you require DEI statements from all applicants, what are you doing to ensure underrepresented applicants are given precedence in the applications process?

• For those on one-year/contingent position hires: 

  • Do you support moving costs or offer additional aid to supplement the cost of moving?

  • If not, what could you personally offer to your new colleague?

  • If your institution does not offer relocation costs, evaluate whether it is appropriate to be advertising this position on a national level. Are there instead local hiring networks you could tap into?

DDGC List Posting Guidelines
Our collective thrives through exchange and community. At the same time, we recognize that we each play a part in continuing—or countering—patterns of exploitations and contingency. To that end, we encourage all DDGC members to regard the DDGC listserv as an important tool that can help us reaffirm the humanity of contingent colleagues and job seekers. As such, we have created a list of things for you to consider before posting job advertisements via the list. 

You can post a job ad on the DDGC List if it, at the minimum, meets the following: 

1. The job is a multi-year, renewable, or TT/T position 

2. Lists a salary range, teaching load, and what relocation funding is available  

3. Ethically attends to the nuances associated with DEI discourses and practices

You should not post an ad on the DDGC List if it is: 

1. A part-time and/or adjunct position

2. A non-TT/T position that asks candidate to teach a full load without the security of a multi-year position

3. Does not provide basic health insurance and benefits

4. Entails instructing more than the equivalent of 12 credit hours a semester

5. Has a higher teaching load than the instructor or colleague who had it in the previous semester or year (For example, if the position replaces someone who previously taught 3 courses capped at 20 students a semester, the new position should not expect the hired faculty to teach more than 3 courses capped at 20 students a semester.)

We will update these guidelines as necessary and welcome your input on how to improve the space. Contact: ddgcconnect [at] gmail [dot] com or one of the DDGC Steering Committee members. 

Conclusion
The DDGC is not only committed to a labor justice movement in German Studies but is also proud to support its student, contingent, underrepresented, unemployed, and underemployed members. Countering the effects created by skewed dynamics associated with elitist, economic, and class-based violence requires more than performative utterances of support and consolation. Such a commitment brings us to consider practices of hiring and employment for those contingent and adjunct colleagues among us and our own complicity in upholding such structures of oppression and violence. 

We hope that these guidelines will give programs another resource to use as they advocate for fewer contingent positions and more equitable hiring practices at their institutions. With your help and through our collective engagement, we can push for humane and humanity-nurturing practices in the humanities and language teaching. 

Sources
AAUP. Data Snapshot: Contingent Faculty in US Higher Ed. October 2018.
AAUP. Data Snapshot: Full-time Women Faculty and Faculty of Color. December 2020.
MLA. Guidelines for Search Committees and Job Seekers.