The OI Gets Rebranded, Drops ‘Oriental’ From Name


The Oriental Institute, or OI, is no more.

But fans of the venerable institution can rest assured – it’s just the name that’s gone.

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The 104-year-old archeology museum run by the University of Chicago is being rebranded.

“The new name is the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures, West Asia and North Africa,” said Theo van den Hout, the museum’s interim director.

Van den Hout, also a professor at U. of C., says there are two main reasons for the change – to prevent confusion and avoid causing offense.

“Most people who visit the Institute, when they hear Oriental Institute, they think of the Far East, China, Japan. And then when they enter the building and see the museum collection, what they see is exclusively ancient Middle Eastern art and artifacts and culture,” said van den Hout. “The other element is that the term ‘Oriental’ over time has taken on a pejorative and negative meaning.”

Founded in 1919, the institute has been a pioneer in studying the ancient Near East and the so-called “fertile crescent,” a term coined by the founder of the institute, James Henry Breasted, to refer to an area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers which gave rise to some of the world’s earliest civilizations.

Van den Hout says making the name change was not an easy choice but the right one.

“It was not easy because Oriental Institute and the OI, at least in the field that we work in, it had become a real brand,” said Van den Hout, who acknowledged that some people are unhappy with the name change.

“There are certainly people who say you’re giving in to woke pressure and so forth,” said Van den Hout.  “I hope over time people will acknowledge that this really is for, for the better.”


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