<\/p>\n
As part of a comprehensive program of modernization, the University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute has adopted a title more suited to the post-modern era: “The University of Chicago Institute of Exotic Studies.” Administration officials arrived at the name after many months of labored consultation. Already, the change is being celebrated by the university community and others as a dismissal of outdated colonial categorizations.<\/p>\n
The Institute\u2019s original name, chosen during its establishment in 1919, has been attacked as a relic of a less informed time. \u201cThe word \u2018Oriental\u2019 has fallen out of favor,\u201d said James Johnson, Matthew L. Bowpatch Distinguished Service Professor of Alternative Medicine. \u201cBack in the early 1900s, pioneering explorers often used arbitrary classifications such as \u2018oriental\u2019 to describe the lands of the East. But it\u2019s 2014 now, and imperialism is long-since dead \u2013 there\u2019s no need to retain old terms reflective of nonexistent power dynamics.\u201d A University representative added, \u201cNobody wants to be labeled racist \u2013 that\u2019s why we decided to rename the Institute, drawing from the unobjectionable, even reverential, vocabulary of today\u2019s popular media. \u2018Exotic\u2019 \u2019 emphasizes how special and unique the East really is. The University seeks to recognize those qualities.\u201d<\/p>\n
The decision has been received positively. \u201cYeah, I\u2019m really glad about this change,\u201d said Will, a second-year Native Cultures major who chose to specialize in “Pray”after dabbling in “Eat” and “Love.” \u201cPeople need to stop dismissing Eastern philosophy. If you\u2019d just witness a tea ceremony in Japan, or attend an Indian wedding, you\u2019d see that these regions are in tune with the fundamental essence of the universe. Unlike us, they\u2019ve retained the accumulated knowledge of their ancestors. That\u2019s why I got this magic carpet tattoo on my back \u2013 to remember to be one with the universe, like them.\u201d <\/p>\n
The Institute has commemorated the name change with new murals at its entrance. Says lead architect Hans Stark, \u201cThe murals seek to highlight the feral yet enlightened qualities of the east. A perfect balance between soothing and stimulating \u2013 just like a good chai tea latte.\u201d Plans for the design are yet to be released to the public, but an anonymous source revealed they are likely to include a large Om with a yin-yang symbol for the dot, a picture of Aladdin, and the Institute\u2019s new name in Papyrus font. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Ayesha Wadhawan Dec. 24, 2013 As part of a comprehensive program of modernization, the University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute has adopted a title more suited to the post-modern era: “The University of Chicago Institute of Exotic Studies.” Administration officials arrived at the name after many months of labored consultation. Already, the change is being celebrated by the university community and others as a dismissal of outdated colonial categorizations. The Institute\u2019s original name, chosen during its establishment in 1919, has been attacked as a relic of a less informed time. \u201cThe word \u2018Oriental\u2019 has fallen out of favor,\u201d said James Johnson, Matthew L. Bowpatch Distinguished Service Professor of Alternative Medicine. \u201cBack in the early 1900s, pioneering explorers often used arbitrary classifications such as \u2018oriental\u2019 to describe the lands of the East. But it\u2019s 2014 now, and imperialism is long-since dead \u2013 there\u2019s no need to retain old terms reflective of nonexistent power dynamics.\u201d A University representative added, \u201cNobody wants to be labeled racist \u2013 that\u2019s why we decided to rename the Institute, drawing from the unobjectionable, even reverential, vocabulary of today\u2019s popular media. \u2018Exotic\u2019 \u2019 emphasizes how special and unique the East really is. The University seeks to recognize those qualities.\u201d The decision has been received positively. \u201cYeah, I\u2019m really glad about this change,\u201d said Will, a second-year Native Cultures major who chose to specialize in “Pray”after dabbling in “Eat” and “Love.” \u201cPeople need to stop dismissing Eastern philosophy. If you\u2019d just witness a tea ceremony in Japan, or attend an Indian wedding, you\u2019d see that these regions are in tune with the fundamental essence of the universe. Unlike us, they\u2019ve retained the accumulated knowledge of their ancestors. That\u2019s why I got this magic carpet tattoo on my back \u2013 to remember to be one with the universe, like them.\u201d The Institute has commemorated the name change with new murals at its entrance. Says lead architect Hans Stark, \u201cThe murals seek to highlight the feral yet enlightened qualities of the east. A perfect balance between soothing and stimulating \u2013 just like a good chai tea latte.\u201d Plans for the design are yet to be released to the public, but an anonymous source revealed they are likely to include a large Om with a yin-yang symbol for the dot, a picture of Aladdin, and the Institute\u2019s new name in Papyrus font.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-komono"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chicagoshadydealer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chicagoshadydealer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chicagoshadydealer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoshadydealer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoshadydealer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2224"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoshadydealer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2224\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3257,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoshadydealer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2224\/revisions\/3257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chicagoshadydealer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoshadydealer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoshadydealer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}