To the Editor:

Irvin Winsboro’s article, "Is There a Real Job Crisis?" in the May 2004 Perspectives, is troubling. Either he is unaware of the considerable movement of nontenured professional historians who are unhappy with their working conditions, or he is just being tendentious, particularly with his talk of Florida beaches and other amenities his nontenured job supposedly offered. His kind of hostile discussion will only succeed in turning more young people away from an academic career. They cannot be bullied into accepting work that does not pay a living wage, no matter how devoted they may be to their field. According to your October 2002 issue (page 18), only 18 percent of adjunct faulty surveyed by you made more than $25,000 per year.

Elizabeth Vandepaer
New York, N.Y.