Grappling With Multidimensional Tasks and Striving for Temporal Depth in the One-Dimensional Academic World

• In Event: Recalibrating Teachers’ Subjectivity in a Globalized World: Work Struggles, Neoliberalism, and Confucianism

Abstract

Objectives
Young scholars in academia often bear the burden of various disadvantages induced by temporal injustice (Goodin, 2010) compared to those with fame and high academic status. This study is to expose the actual working conditions of young scholar teachers within the contemporary one-dimensional academic system (Marcuse, 2013), while also analyzing the deep-seated social and institutional causes that contribute to these predicaments and injustice.

Theoretical Framework
Bluedorn (2002) asserts time is a culturally shaped social construct, split into objective (clocks, calendars) and subjective (perceptions, experiences) categories, and influenced by institutions, experiences, and power relations. Marcuse (2013) critiques modern society, claiming it fosters a one-dimensional worldview that suppresses critical thought and resists change, with ‘false needs’ imposed to serve those in power. He critiques technology’s role in maintaining the status quo, a critique mirrored in academia, which, pressured by ‘publish or perish’ culture, risks stifling originality and enforcing conformity, paralleling Marcuse's observation of industrial society. This study draws upon these two theories to aptly encapsulate the multidimensional tasks academics face while grappling with the temporal demands and conformity pressures in a system that increasingly feels one-dimensional.

Method
This study draws upon a reflexive narrative approach (Bamberg, 2012) to induce the narrator’s ongoing involvement and reflection within the unfolding research process. The exploration of the author’s internal conflicts, as well as the impact of external stressors on personal and professional development, can be valuable not only for self-understanding but also for contributing to a wider dialogue about the lived realities of early career researchers.

Data Source
The data sources for this study are the author’s working memo, work schedules, communication records on social media, and selected working diaries spanning his initial two years as a university faculty member. The author maintains a meticulous practice of organizing all relevant materials and records pertaining to completed tasks, hence a substantial collection of pertinent materials serving as comprehensive data for this study.

Results
The study reveals: 1) Disjointed time due to a variety of non-academic tasks, like mandatory training programs, guidance counselor roles, and added responsibilities during crises like COVID-19, interrupts extended periods of focused research. 2) The ‘up-or-out’ faculty evaluation system and concurrent non-academic tasks impose various urgent deadlines, increasing workload and anxiety. 3) Temporal injustice exists due to power hierarchies, causing early-career scholars to adjust their schedules to senior members’ preferences. 4) The blurred work-life boundary, amplified by the need to work post-hours to meet research commitments and balance family obligations, narrows the meaning of life, which becomes a relentless chase for fragmented time to work on academic papers amidst other duties.

Scholarly Significance
This study contributes to the burgeoning literature on academic labor and the sociology of academia by elucidating the challenges that early-career scholars encounter in their pursuit of scholarly depth amidst an increasingly one-dimensional academic landscape. It provides a nuanced understanding of their struggles and challenges, hence a richer understanding of the human elements that underpin the academic labor process.

Author

• Tengteng Zhuang, Beijing Normal University