Academic Aunties Good Supervision, Bad Supervision
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Mar 12, 2026 Dr. Nhung Tran, Associate Professor of History at the University of Toronto who studies Southeast Asia, law, gender, and religion. She reflects on how supervisors learn their approach, the ethical duty to ensure rigorous, responsible research, and the harms of shadow supervision and exploitative labor. Practical advice covers choosing supportive teams, setting boundaries, and treating supervision as a professional relationship.
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Supervisors Are Mentors Not Just Bosses
- Graduate supervisors act as mentors, intellectual partners, and trusted senior colleagues rather than just bosses who assign tasks.
- Nhung Tran emphasizes supervisors shape dissertation trajectories and help with job applications while upholding scholarly and ethical standards.
From Abusive Supervisor To A Supportive Mentor
- Nhung Tran recounts a toxic early supervisor who required unpaid teaching tasks and abusive demands that pushed her to leave a program.
- She was reassigned to Matthew Sommer, a supportive temporary supervisor who helped her find a better program match.
Training For Knowledge Not Just Jobs
- Universities exist to produce knowledge, and supervisors should prioritise training students to produce ethical, rigorous scholarship over merely facilitating job placement.
- Nhung frames the ability to read and research as a rare privilege that carries ethical duties to research subjects.