{"id":1170,"date":"2025-11-10T11:31:23","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T10:31:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/?p=1170"},"modified":"2026-09-02T10:25:50","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T08:25:50","slug":"power-dynamics-in-academia-supervisory-relationships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/2025\/11\/10\/power-dynamics-in-academia-supervisory-relationships\/","title":{"rendered":"Power Dynamics in Academia: Supervisory Relationships"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Dr. Elisabeth Zschache<\/a>, philosopher and trainer in research ethics, discusses supervision and power dynamics during doctoral studies: how communication manifests as a tool of power, the role of dependencies and unspoken expectations, and why a lack of feedback or implicit task assignments are more than just harmless communication problems. The conversation also addresses the responsibilities of supervisors, how doctoral candidates can strengthen their agency, and why solidarity and exchange are crucial antidotes to feelings of powerlessness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

audio <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Highlights<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n

„It’s often said that abuse of power always occurs within a system that somehow enables it. And if we look at universities and colleges, then these strong formal hierarchies, which are linked to dependencies, certainly facilitate this. Yes, the fact that certain individuals are endowed with so much more power and are so difficult to challenge. Once you have a tenured professorship, you can, to put it somewhat bluntly, do pretty much whatever you want.“<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Dr. Elisabeth Zscache<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

SUMMARY<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

[Note: This interview was conducted in German. You can find a full English translation here<\/a>.]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

English:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this episode, Dr. Elisabeth Zschache, philosopher and trainer in scientific ethics, discusses the relationship between doctoral candidates and their supervisors, highlighting power dynamics and communication issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She notes that slow feedback from supervisors can create uncertainty, and doctoral candidates should be encouraged to voice their concerns and seek peer support. If problems continue to accumulate and grow, the candidates may need to rethink their relationship with their supervisors or find external help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Zschache advises supervisors to manage fewer students and establish clear communication. She also emphasizes that being a good researcher does not mean one is automatically an effective mentor as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Candidates also often hesitate to assert their rights due to fear of retaliation, so Dr. Zschache encourages them to seek support from peers and institutional resources, while maintaining professional boundaries. She also points out that institutional structures can lead to power abuse, and suggests separating grading from mentorship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Zschache gives both positive and negative examples of resolutions to student-supervisor problems, stresses the importance of mentorship and recommends workshops to enhance understanding and supervision skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

German:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In dieser Folge er\u00f6rtert Dr. Elisabeth Zschache, Philosophin und Trainerin f\u00fcr Wissenschaftsethik, das Verh\u00e4ltnis zwischen Promovierenden und ihren Betreuer:innen und beleuchtet dabei Machtdynamiken sowie Kommunikationsprobleme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sie weist darauf hin, dass verz\u00f6gerte R\u00fcckmeldungen seitens der Betreuenden Unsicherheit hervorrufen k\u00f6nnen, und pl\u00e4diert daf\u00fcr, Promovierende zu ermutigen, ihre Bedenken zu \u00e4u\u00dfern und sich mit anderen Promovierenden auszutauschen. Sollten sich Probleme h\u00e4ufen und versch\u00e4rfen, kann es notwendig sein, das Verh\u00e4ltnis zur Betreuungsperson zu \u00fcberdenken oder externe Hilfe in Anspruch zu nehmen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Zschache r\u00e4t Betreuenden, weniger Promovierende gleichzeitig zu betreuen und f\u00fcr eine klare Kommunikation zu sorgen. Zudem betont sie, dass eine exzellente wissenschaftliche Qualifikation nicht automatisch bedeutet, dass man auch ein guter Mentor oder eine gute Mentorin ist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Da Promovierende aus Angst vor negativen Konsequenzen oft z\u00f6gern, ihre Rechte einzufordern, ermutigt Dr. Zschache sie dazu, Unterst\u00fctzung bei Gleichgesinnten und institutionellen Stellen zu suchen und dabei professionelle Grenzen zu wahren. Sie weist zudem darauf hin, dass institutionelle Strukturen Machtmissbrauch beg\u00fcnstigen k\u00f6nnen, und schl\u00e4gt vor, die Bewertung der Dissertation von der Betreuungsfunktion zu trennen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Zschache nennt sowohl positive als auch negative Beispiele f\u00fcr die L\u00f6sung von Konflikten zwischen Promovierenden und Betreuenden, unterstreicht die Bedeutung von Mentoring und empfiehlt Workshops, um das gegenseitige Verst\u00e4ndnis sowie die Betreuungskompetenz zu f\u00f6rdern.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr. Elisabeth Zschache, philosopher and trainer in research ethics, discusses supervision and power dynamics during doctoral studies: how communication manifests as a tool of power, the role of dependencies and unspoken expectations, and why a lack of feedback or implicit task assignments are more than just harmless communication problems. The conversation also addresses the responsibilities … \u201ePower Dynamics in Academia: Supervisory Relationships\u201c<\/span> weiterlesen<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8307,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-allgemein"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8307"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1170"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1170\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1792,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1170\/revisions\/1792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}