As the accompanying issue shows, the New York Times recently ran an article about George Berkeley - yes, the Berkeley after which UC-Berkeley is named - noting the Trinity College Dublin is pulling his name off the library there because of his pro-slavery views.*** From the Times:
George Berkeley |
Westward the course of empire takes its way;
The four first acts already past,
A fifth shall close the drama with the day:
Time’s noblest offspring is the last.
Several years ago, Berkeley renamed two buildings dedicated to former faculty members tarnished by racism, but there has been no serious discussion at the university of changing its own name...
Now to yours truly, "Westward the course of empire takes its way" has a certain pro-colonial ring to it, apart from Berkeley's other problematic views. But, to preserve its "brand," UC-Berkeley could follow the example of its one-time southern branch and just emphasize the letters in its name: UCB. Just a modest suggestion...
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*http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2023/04/can-such-things-be-part-2-ucla-creates.html; https://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2023/04/can-such-things-be.html.
**Example: http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2023/02/moses-goes-down.html.
***https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/08/world/europe/george-berkeley-trinity-college-dublin.html.
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