This fall the University of Pennsylvania`s Department of Oriental Studies will change its name. To what no one knows, because no one can think of any word other than ”oriental” to describe the range of cultures and languages the department covers. But everyone knows why. The word is politically incorrect: some think it offensive to Asians.
Obviously, the University of Chicago`s Oriental Institute will soon have to change its name, too. But to what? ”The Asian Institute” won`t do, because the focus of the institute is ancient Egypt and Egypt is not in Asia. I have a politically correct suggestion. Because Egypt is in Africa, and because it is poli-tically correct to believe that ancient Egyptians were black, the new name should be ”The African Institute.”
