Friday 12th October 2012 - Respect comes from more than titles

Last week one of the students on my final year option addressed me as 'sir'.  It was not in front of the class.  But I gently told him that I much prefer to be known as 'Paul'.  I've said that to many people around the University. It's now generally only the porters who call me something else - usually 'Prof' (which I confess I'm not keen on).  When I asked one of them why they wouldn't call me Paul he said that his supervisor had told him not to, as a mark of respect.

Some people feel that they can gain respect through the use of their title. My own feeling is that one should earn respect via what one does and how one does it rather than assuming it through the use of particular forms of address. I suppose it goes back to a protestant ethic of justification through works rather than through formulae.

Today I was reminded of that student last week because I had an e-mail exchange with a long-standing research colleague in Portugal.  I have known her for over 12 years, since she was a PhD student.  She is now a full lecturer.  We have worked on research projects together, attended conferences, edited materials for publication. Yet she wrote to me today as Dear Professor White.  I responded instantly by replying Dear Dra ..., using her formal title - and told her that she really ought to be addressing me as Paul.  Her response was 'It seems cheeky', but she did at least address the email Dear Paul.

A few years ago I was involved in a joint research project with a German professor.  We both had relatively junior colleagues working with us and supporting us.  Mine always referred to me as Paul: the junior German colleague gave her professor his full title. (Well, not quite: I've known German colleagues who have insisted on being introduced as Herr Doktor Professor ...)  When the two German colleagues visited Sheffield the German assistant confessed to my junior colleague that her professor had told her that she could address him by his first name here in the UK (because my assistant was on those terms with me) but she must never do so when they were back in Germany.

But perhaps in asking my Portuguese colleague to call me by my first name I am being culturally imperialist.  Perhaps I should accept how things are done in Portugal, and not expect her to adopt the 'English way'.  But when I go to visit my colleagues in Portugal I know that I could easily get the cultural niceties wrong.  Every meeting starts with a handshake for all the male participants and kisses on both cheeks for all the females.  Not to participate would seem stand-offish.  Perhaps we in England are more comfortable with establishing relationships via naming rather than by actual physical contact.