ABSTRACT
Abstract If the fulfillment of American democracy includes a system of higher education
that provides equal means of access, opportunity and accommodation for all social classes
in society, then we need to better understand how the vastly enlarged use of contingent
academic labor plays a role in its formation. This essay argues that although the expansion
of higher education has been significant over the past forty years or so, there are hidden
disparities within it that hinder the development of equality. The extensive use of
contingent academic labor, although allowing for more affordable growth of higher
education in the short run, has contributed to a higher education system that is more
highly managed via an expanded administrative apparatus and focused more toward a
corporate-centered agenda. It also facilitates higher education’s reproductive role with
regard to social class stratification. This essay presents a brief analysis of these dynamics
and offers a review of some of the significant organizing activities that have taken place to
counter these trends.
