Harvard drops ‘house master’ title because of slavery connotation
Citing its historical relation to slavery, the leaders of Harvard’s 12 residential colleges unanimously agreed to end the use of “House master’’ in their titles on Tuesday.
The decision to drop “master’’ was announced in an email to students from Harvard College Dean Rakesh Khurana. Officials said they have not yet decided on a new title for the leadership position.
Khurana, who is also the master of Cabot House, said last week that he has “not felt comfortable personally with the title,’’ according to The Harvard Crimson.
The title originally comes from a shorthand of “headmaster’’ or “schoolmaster.’’ Ronald S. Sullivan, a master of Harvard’s Winthrop House, said the name change was partly a response to the recent prominent protests about race at Harvard and on college campuses around the country.
“We cannot ignore the fact that the term ‘master’ has a particular salience in our culture given the very real brutal history of slavery,’’ Sullivan told the Crimson. “A new term that appreciates the realities of the work we do in the 21st century is much more appropriate.’’
The name change follows that of Princeton, which switched its titles from “master’’ to “head of college’’ two weeks ago.
The same debate is occurring at Yale, too. In August, religious studies professor Stephen Davis asked students to refer to him as “head of college’’ rather than “master’’ for his role as the leader of Pierson College. Davis said the racial and gender connotations of “master’’ were “deeply problematic’’ and said the name had made some people uncomfortable.
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