This article takes up the question of the language within which discussion of research degree supervision is couched and framed, and the consequences of such framings for supervision as a field of pedagogical practice. It examines the proliferation and intensity of metaphor, allegory and allusion in the language of candidature and supervision,…

The need for change in the role of the graduate-level teacher is examined, focusing on three areas: the need to replace the notion of teaching with that of pedagogy, the shifting concept of disciplines in the postmodern university, and the work of graduate student supervision. (MSE)