The high-quality study of the Humanities is what makes U of T a world-class institution. However, Humanities does not receive its fair share of resources from the university. It does not get funding comparable to other departments like the Sciences or Business. This lack of funding is becoming evident by the increasing number of sessional professors teaching specifically in the English department. This trend is very worrisome because it is hindering the potential of the professors and students and as a result the department of English as a whole.
Essentially, what is happening is that young and more experienced PhDs are being hired temporarily as contract or sessional workers to teach one or two sessions instead of working at the university full-time. The growing number of sessional professors is due to the fact that there isn’t enough money to hire them full-time.
Even if a sessional worker teaches at the university for a number of years they still do not get into the system, meaning that they do not get the same benefits as the full time professors do, and they are unable to make tenure. No matter how hard these sessional professors work, they do not have a stake in the department as do the full time professors, and therefore don’t have the opportunity to shape the university.
On the contrary, many people might think that hiring sessionals instead of full time professors is a positive trend because sessionals will stay passionate about what they do and will not get bored. Students will constantly be refreshed as they are introduced to new and exciting professors. Nonetheless, the instability in the hiring and firing of professors reflects upon the volatility of the university as a whole. Ironically, if this trend subsided and the university decided to hire young PhDs permanently, they could bring excitement to the more mature faculty by mixing things up with new ideas and perspectives.
The constant flux inherent in the sessionals situation also impacts negatively on students faced with professors who are faced with uncertain job prospects. The passion that these professors have for their jobs in turn can decline, and as a result so does the quality of their lectures and teaching skills. Being in an apathetic and depressed environment makes students feel desolate as well. This is unfair to both the students and the abused teachers in the university.
In any subject, what makes or breaks a class is how well the professor lectures. During my stay at the U of T I have had my fair share of both bad and excellent professors, but one particular young professor comes to mind. I had her for two classes last year and absolutely loved her. She was able to engage the whole class with interesting lectures and incredible material. This year, her name was simply off the course calendar. I later found out from a friend that she no longer teaches at the university, as it was not worth her while. It baffles me that U of T would let such a highly qualified, remarkable teacher go.
In the field of English, professors and students alike require so much passion to fully dive into the material and absorb every intricate detail. This passion is diminished by the university’s lack of commitment to its students. By constantly replacing professors, the university is letting down its students because disheartened professors lose the dedication to their work that made them excellent teachers.
The English department thrives on emotion and passion, but with sessional professors coming in and out of the university, the students and professors are not allowed a chance to develop personal connection to their work or each other. If this trend continues, the Humanities will not grow and mature on pace with the rest of the school. Instead, more uninspired professors will come and go, and leave behind derivative students.
