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→References and Sensitivity Guides
Random House's ''Guide to Sensitive Language'' states "Other words (e.g., Oriental, colored) are outdated or inaccurate." This ''Guide to Sensitive Language'' suggests the use of "Asian or more specific designation such as Pacific Islander, Chinese American, [or] Korean." <ref>"Race, Ethnicity, and National Origin." Sensitive Language. [http://www.randomhouse.com/words/language/avoid_guide.html#race Random House]</ref> Merriam-Webster describes the term as "sometimes offensive,"<ref>"Oriental." [http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=oriental Merriam-Webster]</ref> Encarta states that when the term is used as a noun it is considered " a highly offensive term for somebody from East Asia" <ref>"Oriental." [http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1861684868/Oriental.html] </ref> However, the same reference also defines the adjectival usage as "relating to East Asia (dated)" or "high quality".
Random House's ''Guide to Sensitive Language'' states "Other words (e.g., Oriental, colored) are outdated or inaccurate." This ''Guide to Sensitive Language'' suggests the use of "Asian or more specific designation such as Pacific Islander, Chinese American, [or] Korean." <ref>"Race, Ethnicity, and National Origin." Sensitive Language. [http://www.randomhouse.com/words/language/avoid_guide.html#race Random House]</ref> Merriam-Webster describes the term as "sometimes offensive,"<ref>"Oriental." [http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=oriental Merriam-Webster]</ref> Encarta states that when the term is used as a noun it is considered " a highly offensive term for somebody from East Asia" <ref>"Oriental." [http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1861684868/Oriental.html] </ref> However, the same reference also defines the adjectival usage as "relating to East Asia (dated)" or "high quality".
According to widely accepted textbook guidelines, there are many racially insensitive terms and concepts (including the word ''oriental'') which are to be avoided when used in conjunction with Asian people. [[Diane Ravitch]], a former assistant [[Secretary_of_Education| secretary of education]] under [[Bill_Clinton|Clinton]] and [[George_Bush|Bush]](considered by many to be "one of the country's most spirited and respected education analysts" <ref>http://www.sacbee.com/content/opinion/story/6184665p-7139626c.html%20| Sacramento Bee, February 27, 2003 "Editorial: Policing the vocabulary Textbook sensitivity goes fanatic"</ref>) has documented a series of images and depictions which are banned from textbooks and references. (Examples below.)
According to widely accepted textbook guidelines, there are many racially insensitive terms and concepts (including the word ''oriental'') which are to be avoided when used in conjunction with Asian people. [[Diane Ravitch]], a former assistant [[Secretary_of_Education| secretary of education]] under [[Bill_Clinton|Clinton]] and [[George_Bush|Bush]](considered by many to be "one of the country's most spirited and respected education analysts" <ref>http://www.sacbee.com/content/opinion/story/6184665p-7139626c.html%20| Sacramento Bee, February 27, 2003 "Editorial: Policing the vocabulary Textbook sensitivity goes fanatic"</ref>) has documented a series of images and depictions which are banned from textbooks and references. (Examples below.)
===Historical Connotations ===
In 19th century academia, some works in "Oriental studies" contained with inaccurate information that some then used to justify colonisation of these countries. Some 19th and 20th century Europeans and Americans who used the term are thought to have held a patronizing attitude toward the region. Many of "these people" saw "the East" as backwards, while the West was seen as logical, rational and more modern. This view was first, and most famously, put forward by [[Edward Said]] in his [[Orientalism]].
While the term is clearly an example of [[Eurocentrism]] some people do not think Eurocentrism is undesirable. Additionally, many scholarly works in the 19th and 20th Century were riddled with errors, but the outcry to replace words and phrases has not be even-handed or uniform. For example, according to the [[Encyclopedia Brittanica]] and Tim McCaskell of the Toronto Board of Education, the works of [[Charles Linnaeus]], [[Charles Darwin]], [[Francis Galton]] and others have been used to justify many atrocities, including slavery, colonization, and racial genocide. Despite the fact that evil acts were justified by the works of these men, phrases such as the "[[Origin of Species]]"; the "[[Theory of Evolution]]"; the "[[General System of Nature]]"; "[[survival of the fittest]]" et.al., are still in use today. <ref>http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9108541/philosophical-anthropology</ref> <ref>http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jonmorro/race.html</ref> <ref> "A History of Race/ism", Prepared by Tim McCaskell, a representative of the Toronto Board of Education</ref> <ref>http://www.scholars.nus.edu.sg/victorian/history/empire/Empire.html</ref><ref>http://www.mediamonitors.net/harunyahya37.html</ref>
===Serious Opposition to Textbooks and Sensitivity Guides ===
===Serious Opposition to Textbooks and Sensitivity Guides ===