“UNDERVALUED, UNDERPAID, UNDERAPPRECIATED”: The Lived Experiences of Adjunct Faculty in the Performing Arts

In the United States, postsecondary classroom education is facilitated by a wide range of faculty constituencies. The reliance on adjunct faculty, those who are part-time and paid per course or credit hour without benefits, is increasing across all disciplines. Extant published discourse examines the dilemmas of adjunct faculty generally, but specific research into how adjunct faculty in the performing arts function is limited. This chapter seeks to address this gap in information about the characteristics of adjunct labor that are specific to performing arts (dance, music, theatre, and interdisciplinary) programs. Using an exploratory, mixed-method empirical methodology to capture information about how adjuncts perceive their relationship to and roles in performing arts programs, this chapter contextualizes the experiences of adjunct faculty in the performing arts and offers suggestions to faculty and administrators about how to encourage and ensure more ethical and equitable engagement with adjunct faculty in performing arts programs.