Power and Power Abuse in Academia
Academia – we would like to imagine, is a place where collaboration outweighs competition, recognition is tied only to merit and resources are equally distributed. However, we know in reality that the playing field is not equal for all participants and a select few often possess more power and privilege than others. This power imbalance does not only promote egocentric practices, inequalities and hierarchies, but also diminishes opportunities for innovation and good scientific practice, as well as increases the likelihood of mental health issues.
We look forward to hearing about your personal experiences as well as your reflections on the experiences of academics in general, institutional practices and system-level trends.
Tear down this invisible wall
Katrin Frisch on encounters with the different forms of west german hegemony throughout her scientific training and everyday working life in academia.
From “I” to “We” – Addressing Gender Imbalances in the Natural Sciences
Haibo Ruan from the Lise Meitner Gesellschaft on the forms of power abuse in science, its gender dimension, and how to address and overcome it.
When Relationships Between Supervisors and Doctoral Researchers Go Wrong
Gorup & Laufer on how control is exercised and abused within relationships between doctoral supervisors and their students, what happens when PhD students challenge this control, and how we break free of this cycle of control.
Who is in the position to proclaim a supervision conflict?
Prevention of power abuse and supervision conflicts should be considered as a matter of good scientific practice, argues the doctoral researchers network N² in their postition paper. Jonathan Stefanowski explains how this can be done.