The collegiate cancel mob expunged Woodrow Wilson from Princeton University and yanked the name of John C. Calhoun—whom a John F. Kennedy-led committee described as one of the five most outstanding senators in American history—off a college at Yale University. Now, historical incineration has reached the University of Chicago, where the on-campus Oriental Institute will change its name amid a national and international campaign against variations of the word “Orient.”
“The institute’s new change and logo will be debuted at an April 4 reception at the museum, which is located at 1155 E. 58th St.,” reports the Hyde Park Herald.
The Oriental Institute has roots dating back to 1896, when UChicago’s Department of Semitic Languages moved into the Haskell Oriental Museum, and the institute officially came into being in 1919. But nothing is permanent amid the West’s iconoclastic fervor. The Herald quotes Theo van den Hout, the institute’s interim director, as saying that “the word ‘oriental’ has developed a pejorative connotation in modern English.”
“Our current name has caused confusion, often contributing to the perception that our work is focused on East Asia, rather than West Asia and North Africa,” van den Hout reportedly added.
Approvingly, the Herald observes, “OI joins a succession of other international museums and research institutions rebranding to address their derogatory origins” (emphasis mine).
Oriental Institute founder James Henry Breasted, who “stressed the significance of the ancient civilizations of the Near East and Egypt and emphasized their profound contributions to the foundations of the Western civilization,” may have been surprised to hear that the foundations of his institute were derogatory.
And faced with van den Hout’s charge that the institute’s “current name has caused confusion,” Breasted might have proposed edification instead of eradication. Should Latin phrases and Lincolnian historical allusions be eradicated from the American lexicon because some do not want to resort to a dictionary or encyclopedia? By the same token, shouldn’t the Oriental Institute simply inform visitors online and physical of the motivation for its century-old name?
Sadly, the ivory tower deems destructive intellectual laziness to be far preferable to the hard work of critically presenting the past. Winston Churchill diagnosed this phenomenon long ago when he reputedly said, “To build may have to be the slow and laborious task of years. To destroy can be the thoughtless act of a single day.”
* The views expressed in this article solely represent the views of the author, not the views of the Chicago Thinker.
Real Chicagoans don’t accept the renaming of our beloved buildings and institutions.
Real South Siders have T Shirts and signs that say “We Still Call it Comiskey Park” – likewise the Sears Tower is still the Sears Town and the Standard Oil Building is still the Standard Oil Building – no real Chicagoan accepts the Insurance Company acquisition names same as real Chicagoans don’t put ketchup on an all beef Chicago hot dog.
J Els
3rd generation U Chicago/Hyde Park Kenwood local
Anybody up for doing a protest outside “The Oriental Institute”?
“F PC, CRT Woke Culture”
“We Still Call it Comiskey Park”
“It’s still the Sears Tower, the John Hancock Building and The Oriental Institute As* Holes”
“
Frankly, I think it makes sense to me. They said they were motivated by the confusion of the fact that now “the orient” tends to connote East Asia even though the purview of the OI is the Middle East and North Africa. It’s just making it more specific.
Fair, but as I said, “Should Latin phrases and Lincolnian historical allusions be eradicated from the American lexicon because some do not want to resort to a dictionary or encyclopedia? By the same token, shouldn’t the Oriental Institute simply inform visitors online and physical of the motivation for its century-old name?”
This author uses the phrase “ivory tower” at the end in reference to an organization making an institution’s name MORE accessible & LESS hoity-toity, which feels kind of dissonant—like the author is just throwing buzz words around without care or consideration for what they mean. Keeping a name you’d “have to resort to a dictionary or encyclopedia” for is MORE deserving of this “ivory tower” label. As AJ said in this comment section, “The Orient” in the common lexicon refers to East Asia, which the OI does not cover. So, the name change also makes sense on that front beyond just ‘woke cancel culture changing Oriental Institute name.’ This editorial does not critically engage with the opinions it seems to express, and I’d say it is written poorly.
I do hope they decide upon a distinct name for it, though. But I understand the reason for the change.
I did not want to get bogged down in the weeds for a short op-ed, but I thank you for the opportunity to elaborate.
For reference, Google defines “ivory tower” as a “a state of privileged seclusion or separation from the facts and practicalities of the real world.” Universities across the country have changed the names of their colleges and sports teams and removed monuments to controversial figures. Polls show that many, if not most, Americans do not share this enthusiasm. (For instance, Morning Consult’s survey respondents oppose the renaming of military bases by a 16-point margin: https://morningconsult.com/2021/07/14/confederate-statues-flag-military-bases-polling/.)
The drive for renaming is thus a case of walled-off administrators, faculty, and students being detached from the “practicalities of the real world,” justifying my use of “ivory tower” in that instance. (1/2)
To reconcile the apparent contradiction, actively and widely diffusing the academic knowledge contained in dictionaries and encyclopedias is perhaps the precise opposite of establishing a place of “privileged seclusion or separation.” Academics break the ivory tower mold inasmuch as they go out into the world and edify their compatriots. Thus my rhetorical question: “shouldn’t the Oriental Institute simply inform visitors online and physical of the motivation for its century-old name?” (2/2)