Academia

Harvard To Drop Traditional “House Master” Title As Racially Insensitive

200px-harvard_wreath_logo_1svgHarvard University has long followed the ancient tradition of British schools in naming “Masters” for undergraduate residential houses. These are senior faculty members who serve as the chief administrative officers for each of the houses. The school has announced that that long-standing term will be dropped as racially insensitive for African American students, even though it has nothing to do with slavery or racism.

The term “master” was originally derived from words like “schoolmaster” and “headmaster” and have long been a tradition at such esteemed institutions as Oxford and Cambridge. Nevertheless, students and faculty have objected to possible connotations of racism and slavery.

Harvard College Dean Rakesh Khurana announced in an email that the title will be trashed:

“I write on behalf of myself and my fellow residential House leaders to let you know that the House Masters have unanimously expressed desire to change their title. In the coming weeks, the College will launch a process in which members of the House leaders’ docket committee, working with senior College team members and the House leadership community as a whole, will suggest a new title that reflects the current realities of the role.”

Notably Khurana’s bio still lists his service as “co-Master” of Cabot House. Khurana told the the school newspaper that he has “not felt comfortable personally with the title.”

I can understand that some students might be concerned about the term when they first arrive at Harvard. However, since the term is not connected historically to slavery, it would seem like a case could be made for the preservation of the tradition through better understanding of its meaning and origins. The concern is that traditional terms or titles will be set aside despite their misinterpretation by some students or faculty. I can honestly understand the negative connotation raised by the title “House Master.” Indeed, this may be the ultimate decision for the majority of the students, faculty and staff of Harvard. A case can certainly be made that, despite its non-racist origins, it is now a term associated with racial supremacy. Yet, it would seem worthy of a greater public debate on how to handle historically non-racist terms that are interpreted as offensive on a contemporary basis.

What do you think?

Source: Washington Post

55 thoughts on “Harvard To Drop Traditional “House Master” Title As Racially Insensitive”

  2. Riesling, Great question. Harvard also better remove all Master locks on campus. Watching the Masters Gold Tournament should also be banned on campus.

  4. Paul

    I had the same problem when I taught at ‘inner city’ schools. There were teachers getting their Masters online while teaching and then their doctorate. I have a four year Masters in Architecture degree. It is worth ten online Doctorates. I had a firehose shoved down my throat for four years. When anyone, including the principle who was a ‘whale’ of a doctor, smiled and mentioned Dr. I responded with their first name and asked them to look at a suspicious wart on my foot.

    I don’t even call my doctor, Dr. He has the confidence to forgo that BS and I like to build up respect for people, not hand it out immediately.

  5. DW – Upgrade to “Hog Boss” Sheriff. Don’t cross Macon County line with a car that have broken tail lights.

  6. I think all of the Havard Law School students who are offended by the coat of arms of a family that donated the land for the most prestigious law school, they should be people of principle, and transfer to another school.

  7. I got into a little set-to with the superintendent of my district when she got her doctorate and let be known the she know wanted to be known as Dr. …. As said that was fine as long as she addressed me as Master Schulte.

  10. (music- to the tune of The Armour Hotdog Song)

    Wimphead. Call him Wimphead!
    What kind of people call him Wimphead?
    Fat kids, skinny kids, kids who climb on docks.
    Dumb schmucks, computer heads, kids who die of chicken pox…
    Want Wimphead. They want Wimphead.
    The guy kids … like…. to … BITE!

    —

    Or is it Whimphead? my spulling is not so good cause I had a female teacher in grade school who had it all wrong. I had a dad who had it all wrong too. He was told that you were supposed to put pin holes in condoms for good luck.

  12. Harvard College Dean, Co-Master, Rakesh Khurana announced in an email that the titles will be trashed:

    Army Master sergeant, Marine Corps Master Sergeant, Air Force Master Sergeant.

  13. Are they going to change the name of a Master’s Degree while they’re at it?

  14. Replacing “Master” with “Bubba” makes perfect sense:

    “Chess Bubba”
    “Bubbas and Johnson”
    “Bubba of Ceremonies”
    “Bubbabate”

    Yikes!

  16. Why did they not cotton on to the sexual discrimination issues of the term “Master” ? That argument might have made sense.

    I think the new title should reflect the respect that becomes an individual with such responsibilities and suggest the title of “Bubba” be considered..

  17. What amazing and unadulterated stupidity! Will we now remove the word master from the Bible or what will we call a master carpenter or an electrician. Didn’t anyone at Harvard have a brain or does all that money simply push out common sense.

  18. Let’s call a spade a spade. This is simply stupid and denigrates the entire issue of racial equality by overstepping universal words and terms by giving local usages over reaching importance. Boys and girls? Nope, can’t use the word boy as that has denigrated blacks, and whites for that matter. I have been called boy by bubba types and I’m white. Whoops, can I use the term bubba? The term unabridged will be expanding its umbrella. This takes the color out of life.

  19. So you’re saying the American Founders are persona non grata?

    Seems like they were a smidgen “racially insensitive.”

    Let’s see. Freedom of Thought, Speech, Assembly, Religion, Press and NO Freedom of Racial Insensitivity?

    Would it be “racially insensitive” to say that affirmative action, redistribution, “Fair Housing” and the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments are unconstitutional in that they respectively introduce a bias, nullify the private property rights of possession and disposition, illegally transfer the authority to set immigration policy to two criminal foreign citizens and could not be brought for the benefit of non-citizens or “property,” understanding that the penalty for illegal entry is deportation?

  20. Oh for christ sake… let’s all just drink the lime Kool-Aid and call it a day!!!

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