PhD Discussion Forum

I recently had my second year progression viva and it didn't go as well as I'd hoped. As a bit of background my supervisor has been flakey this year (to put it mildly) and as I'm doing a 'new type' and 'non-traditional' creative PhD there's a lot of confusion (at both ends) about what I should actually be doing/how much etc. Changing supervisor isn't an option because its a small department and no one else is specialised in my subject area. So in the end I did the best I could and what I thought was right. When I did occassionally meet with my supervisor I was told my work was really good and I was ahead of where I should be, so it was a bit of a shock when in the progression viva I was told I wasn't and that in fact I needed to do a hell of a lot more. I was also given a lot of suggested changes that I didn't agree with and neither did my supervisor, but I'm torn between who's advice to take. And to make it worse, instead of defending myself/my work I just went into my shell and was too upset to say anything. I did pass, however feeling major impostor syndrome and fading confidence in my project following this. Any advice/shared experiences/telling me to pull myself together would be much appreciated!

Are you doing a practice-led arts PhD? If so there is a great book (essential reading) called 'Visualizing Research' by Gray & Malins that might help you clear up some issues. I would listen to the feedback you got and think carefully about the direction your Phd is taking - at this point it's a great opportunity to make sure you're on the right path!