Put Some Respect on My Name: Navigating the Use of Academic Titles and Personas

Abstract

This critical douethnographic study investigates the challenges and provides strategies related to the use of academic titles and establishing an academic persona within the academy. Starting with a review of the scholarship related to challenges faced by emerging scholars in the academy, both authors then engage in a reflective examination of their life experiences, culture, and values, which have shaped their identities as scholars and professionals. The study then explores the varied challenges that both authors have experienced in their roles as early/mid-career professors. The results of the study indicated that the academy can present some unique challenges for non-tenured faculty, which include the acknowledgement of positionality and authority; students as customers’ mentality; lack of respect for non-dominant norms; ageism experienced by young professors; and issues of peer-ship versus colleagueship as opposed to essential personhood. However, they found the following strategies as a successful way to address these challenges: being professional at all times; being consistent; being clear about what you want and expect; not fighting every battle; and building relationships with colleagues and mentors.