Yes, of course, it's okay to refer to him as Dr. Dehlin.
Some people prefer to include their academic title when being addressed or talked about. For instance, I always like to write, Dr. Peterson, because he prefers to have his academic title included.
Even to this day, I would not hesitate to add the honorific Captain Kangaroo.
In Germany academic titles are legally part of one's name and it is illegal to use a title to which you are not entitled. And yet German professors are politely addressed and referred to simply as Frau or Herr so-and-so, the same as anyone else. American academics are much more likely than Germans to insist that the coveted titles be actually used. I still find this a bit odd.
Johannes wrote:I have listened to a number of Mormon Stories interviews and learnt a lot from them. I have to say, however, that Dr Dehlin is not a natural interviewer.
Interviewing is an art. It's more than just asking a series of questions - or, as Dehlin often does, saying literally "Talk about... [subject that you want the subject to talk about]". It's about building a rapport with your subject, letting a conversation flow in a seemingly natural way - if necessary, getting their guard down and encouraging them to say things that they hadn't intended to. David Frost was famously good at this. So was Michael Parkinson. I expect Larry King was too, although I saw very little of his work.
It would probably be churlish to pick on some of Dehlin's minor tics, but if I ever hear him interrupt a subject again and say "Real quick....", you can sign me up immediately for Team Rosebud.
That said, Mormon Stories has collected a body of oral history that is probably unique and from which people will still be learning for many years to come, so Dr Dehlin deserves real credit for that.
I listen to the MS interviews where the subject interests me, and I've often wondered what it would be like to have an edited version where everything Dehlin says is edited out. Other times, I just imagine that he's doing a subtle Jiminy Glick impersonation and that at least makes me chuckle.
Physics Guy wrote:In Germany academic titles are legally part of one's name and it is illegal to use a title to which you are not entitled. And yet German professors are politely addressed and referred to simply as Frau or Herr so-and-so, the same as anyone else.
I'm probably out of date here, but certainly a few years ago German universities retained the old custom whereby not only did a full professor have the title "Herr Professor Uchtdorf", his wife became the "Frau Professor". Has that been abolished now?
I have never heard a professor's wife called "Frau Professor" because of her husband's position, though I don't doubt that it once was the rule. It's conceivable that it sometimes still happens. I can't notice it with my wife because she's a professor herself.
I've also just recently been addressed as "professor" by a few students, so using the title may not be as out-of-date as I thought. I must be looking older.
Physics Guy wrote:I have never heard a professor's wife called "Frau Professor" because of her husband's position, though I don't doubt that it once was the rule. It's conceivable that it sometimes still happens. I can't notice it with my wife because she's a professor herself.
I've also just recently been addressed as "professor" by a few students, so using the title may not be as out-of-date as I thought. I must be looking older.
That's interesting... may I ask, are you working in Germany at the moment? My knowledge of the German system is very out of date, although I was gratified to learn recently that the akademisches Viertel is still kept.
