Agonistic Struggle

Hegel's master and slave is a significant archetype for graduate research supervision. The master—slave relation vividly exemplifies the hierarchical bond that ties supervisor and student together. Such a confronting view of supervision provides a counterbalance to contemporary emphases on equality between supervisor and student. In what follows, I use Zali Gurevitch's interpretation (`Dialectical dialogue', 2001, British Journal of Sociology) of Hegel's master and slave (Phenomenology of Spirit, 1807) to analyse an extract of supervision dialogue between a supervisor and a Masters student in the Humanities. My analysis shows the mundaneness of the master—slave relation in action. This mundaneness derives from supervision's institutional underpinnings and contributes to the relative invisibility of the master—slave relation as an influential dynamic. In closing, I argue that this investigation usefully draws our attention to the third player in supervision, the thesis, and that master—slave dynamics may have both disturbing and helpful effects for supervisor and student.