Last spring, he insisted that I submit my dissertation for a defense, even though he had only read 90 pages of it -- once. (He praised each of the three chapters he read -- one was even "outstanding" -- and offered minimal constructive criticism). Then, a week before the defense, two other professors on my committee (who had, thankfully, taken the time to read the diss) decided it just wasn't ready and asked my advisor to call the defense off.
After the debacle, I explicitly asked him to read drafts, not just supposedly final versions of the chapters and/or recognize the existing problems with the dissertation -- including the methodology and the thesis statement. He agreed to do both in person. The next day, he sent an email in which he not only reneged, but also 1) suggested that I had been unprofessional by asking for feedback and 2)threatened to have me retake my comps if I didn't rewrite the whole diss within a month or so.
It was suddenly clear to me that all this "autonomy" I had thought I had been granted was little more than laziness on my advisor's part. I was just so angry.
I did wind up getting a year extention on the comps, thanks, in part to the Dean of the Graduate College (and in part to the fact that I'd had serious health problems for a number of years.)
My advisor and I still respect each other and have a very good, if somewhat distant relationship. I have to admit that I'm much happier with an AWOL advisor than I'd be with a sadistic, controlling, micro-manager. Still, I crave -- honestly crave -- real criticism in a way I never thought I would as a Master's student, or an undergrad.
Malinche, I don't know about the possible effects of all this advisor negligence on the field. I, at least, am still deluded enough to believe that I'll do a good diss anyway ....
Treehugger, this sounds so awful. You sound like a real trooper though - like it's made you stronger. Well, at least your advisor got some embarassment from his crappy mentoring. Not that that is any helpful to you.
Best of luck.
