Rhode Island's formal name for centuries included the phrase "Providence Plantations." Plantation is a word used throughout the the 17th century to refer to situations with no blacks: Plantation of Ulster. Rhode Islanders, ignorant of history, approved removal of that awful word two years ago.
An office within the University of Southern California's School of Social Work says it is removing the term "field" from its curriculum because it may have racist connotations related to slavery.
The newly renamed Office of Practicum Education, formerly known as the Office of Field Education, within the university's Suzanne-Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, is making the change in order to be more inclusive, according to a memo sent out to faculty and students this week and obtained by NPR.
"This change supports anti-racist social work practice by replacing language that could be considered anti-Black or anti-immigrant in favor of inclusive language," the memo reads. "Language can be powerful, and phrases such as 'going into the field' or 'field work' may have connotations for descendants of slavery and immigrant workers that are not benign."
Of course, you know darn well that "field work" is really working outside the ivory tower. Watch out physicists: your racist "Unified Field Theory" is next! And what will call the influence a big magnet has on its surroundings?
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