Contents

pp iii-iv

Notes on contributors

pp v-ix

Foreword

pp x-xii

Introduction

pp 1-12

PART I

pp 13-14

1 - Re-entering academia: the unexpected journey

pp 15-25

2 - Entering the fray: the hyper-competitive PhD environment

pp 26-34

3 - Conceptualising a PhD topic: navigating my way through academia

pp 35-44

4 - New horizons: moving countries to start the PhD

pp 45-56

5 - From home to the unknown: applying for postgraduate study in the UK from the global south

pp 57-68

Editors’ reflections: Part I

pp 69-70

PART II

pp 71-72

6 - Navigating the depths of grief: a journey through grief while pursuing a PhD

pp 73-82

7 - Double duty: undertaking PhD research while being a full-time lecturer

pp 83-92

8 - Balancing act: balancing family life with the PhD

pp 93-104

9 - Managing the mind and PhD’ing

pp 105-116

Editors’ reflections: Part II

pp 117-120

PART III

pp 121-122

10 - Safety in cultures of precarity: complex trauma and the value of ‘trauma-informed’ PhD supervision

pp 123-134

11 - Working for nothing: the exploitation of postgraduate students

pp 135-144

12 - How close is too close? Ethical tensions and reflections in the Breddon Centre

pp 145-155

13 - Methodology unravelled: safely crossing the research minefield

pp 156-168

Editors’ reflections: Part III

pp 169-172

PART IV

pp 173-174

14 - ‘Light at the end of the tunnel’: the Viva and beyond

pp 175-184

15 - The whispers of doubt: ten years after the PhD and pervasive imposter syndrome

pp 185-195

16 - Fifteen years later, at the moral crossroads: retaining purpose and direction in the face of academic capitalism

pp 196-209

17 - Mentoring moments: a collaborative reflection on supervision

pp 210-221

Editors’ reflections: Part IV

pp 222-224