Oxford set to make 800-year-old Latin ceremony non-binary
Oxford is set to make an 800-year-old Latin ceremony gender-neutral for the benefit of non-binary students.
The university has conferred its degrees in Latin since the 12th century, but the wording used could be changed to make it more inclusive.
Dons will vote on a proposal to change the Latin ceremonial text to cater to those 'who identify as non-binary'.
In a gazette issued to alert faculties to the planned changes, the introduction of the first gender-neutral degree ceremony in Oxford's almost 1,000-year history is deemed 'necessary'.
The changes involve stripping a Latin message of congratulations of words that are grammatically gendered masculine or feminine.
Instead of referring to masters students as 'magistri' (masters) – a masculine word – the proposed text uses the term 'vos', which is neutral terms for 'you'. The word 'doctores' (doctors), which is also masculine, could be changed.
For undergraduates, the word for 'who', which has a masculine and feminine form, will be replaced with a neutral word.
Similar changes have been proposed for the specific wording used in degree ceremonies for awards in arts, music, medicine, law, philosophy and other specialisms.
The push for gender-neutral language will not only apply in degree ceremonies, but other formal occasions at Oxford.
In a ceremony for the admission of a new Vice-Chancellor, the retiring Vice-Chancellor will say a few words in English not about 'his/her' tenure, but about 'their' time at the helm.
Gender pronouns will also be stripped for other formal occasions including for the admissions of staff, if plans are voted through by Oxford's Congregation, which acts like a parliament for the university.
A vote will be held on April 29 and will affect all ceremonies from October this year.
The linguistic changes have been approved by Dr Jonathan Katz, a Latin expert who serves as the university's Public Orator.
The proposals come amid a general push by public bodies to become more inclusive of varying gender identities, which has seen universities introduce gender-neutral toilets and inclusive language guides.
Oxford's own Equality and Diversity Unit has urged staff and students to be mindful about discussing certain issues, stating 'all members of the University should be sensitive when discussing transgender topics'.
The proposals also come after a modern reckoning with Latin.
The Labour government cut the £4 million Latin Excellence Programme which supported the teaching of language in state schools, raising concerns about an attack on subjects often deemed 'elitist'.
This led to accusations that Sir Keir Starmer was 'pulling up the drawbridge behind him' by axing Latin, despite himself studying the subject.
In 2022, the textbooks of the Cambridge Latin Course books, which had been used in classrooms for five decades, were earmarked for revision because of their depictions of slaves.
In the wake of Black Lives Matter protests, the didactic character of Caecilius used in the course was flagged, as he was shown to own several slaves. In one educational vignette, he was shown buying a young girl.
Some scholars have raised concerns in the past that these domestic slaves were shown living 'happy' and carefree lives. One 2019 academic article in the US argued this was a 'sanitation and normalisation of slavery'.
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bloomberg
3 hours ago
- Bloomberg
UK Welfare Overhaul Back on Track After Concessions, Minister Says
The UK government expressed confidence it can win a crucial parliamentary vote of its disputed flagship welfare reform policy following a U-turn by Prime Minister Keir Starmer. In an interview with the BBC on Sunday, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the government has spent much of the past week engaging with backbenchers and has addressed many of their concerns.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
UK junior trade minister visits Taiwan
LONDON (Reuters) -British junior trade minister Douglas Alexander is visiting Taiwan for talks on Sunday, the UK government said, on a trip that is aimed at boosting trade with Taipei but is likely to anger China. China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and strongly objects to any official interactions between the island and foreign governments, believing them to represent support for Taiwan's desire to be recognised as an independent country. Britain only has formal diplomatic relations with Beijing, but maintains a de facto embassy in Taipei. Junior British ministers hold talks with their Taiwanese counterparts but by convention senior ministers do not meet Taiwanese officials. Alexander's trip comes at a time when Britain and China are looking to mend ties, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer expected to visit Beijing this year on the first trip by a British leader since 2018. But despite those efforts, tensions remain. Last week, China's military criticised the sailing of a British warship through the Taiwan Strait as a deliberate attempt to "cause trouble". Alexander will be in Taiwan for annual trade talks on June 29-30, the Department for Business and Trade said. He will witness the signing of UK-Taiwan trade partnership pillars, and meet President Lai Ching-te as part of Britain's "long-standing unofficial relationship" with Taiwan, it said. "We share a long-standing trade relationship with Taiwan and our trade reached an all-time high last year, but we know there are still more opportunities for British businesses," Alexander said in a statement.
San Francisco Chronicle
12 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
S.F.'s Great Highway recall fight begins: Did Joel Engardio mislead the Sunset?
The campaign to recall San Francisco Supervisor Joel Engardio kicked off canvassing efforts Saturday at McCoppin Square Park along Taraval Street in the Sunset District, one month after successfully triggering a special election set for Sept. 16. Armed with bright yellow pamphlets bearing Engardio's face and text in both English and Chinese that read 'He turned his back on the Sunset,' dozens of volunteers gathered to knock on doors and canvas their neighbors to vote for the recall. The trouble for Engardio, a moderate elected out of District 4 in 2022, started when he championed a ballot measure that would permanently remove cars from a 2-mile stretch of the city's westernmost coastal boulevard, the Upper Great Highway, in favor of opening a park. That measure, called Proposition K, passed with 55% of the citywide vote in the November election. But a majority of voters in westside precincts, where residents say they relied on the highway to drive around their neighborhood, rejected the measure. Engardio has defended the measure that converted the highway into what's now called 'Sunset Dunes Park,' arguing it was a democratic opportunity to restore access to the coast for all residents. He said he's been his district's 'champion' since day one, pointing to his support for restoring algebra to eighth grade, adding police beat patrols to Irving Street and creating the Sunset Night Market. The recall effort reflects not only the intense controversy over urban land use in San Francisco, but also the burgeoning political power of westside residents who feel their quality of life was harmed by what they perceive as a 'war on cars.' 'I've lived out here for years and I've never seen the Chinese community get so behind anything,' said Susan Chen, a 30-year Sunset resident and recall volunteer, at Saturday's canvassing effort. Meanwhile, Engardio's supporters have argued that recalls, funded by taxpayer money, are a waste of city resources, that it's undemocratic to vote out a supervisor based on a single issue and that the Sunset Dunes Park has had a minimal impact on congestion. A Chronicle data analysis of westside traffic data painted a complicated picture of how the highway closure has impacted traffic: Some commutes have become longer during rush hour as drivers are forced onto more congested alternative routes, especially Chain of Lakes Drive in Golden Gate Park. But some arteries showed no slowdowns at all. Engardio said he's worked with SFMTA to alleviate the traffic impact. Those interventions include adding dual left and right turn lanes and a traffic signal at a key intersection to ease congestion on Chain of Lakes Drive. Engardio's backers ramped up advertising and appealed for Mayor Daniel Lurie to support Engardio last week. Engardio has some high-profile supporters, including Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelmann, who posted on his X account Monday, 'Moderate SF Supervisor @JoelEngardio fixes potholes, supports small biz, brought back Algebra, and fights for what's right no matter how high the personal stakes.' Stoppelmann, who donated $175,000 to the 'Stand with Joel' anti-recall campaign, added that Lurie should back Engardio. Lurie has, so far, not taken a public stance on the recall effort against Engardio. If he is recalled, it will fall on Lurie to pick his replacement. 'This recall is wasteful and threatens to derail all the progress that's been made to tackle the city's biggest challenges,' said Joe Arellano, spokesperson for the Stop the Recall campaign, in a statement, adding that 'Joel will be out knocking on doors and earning votes, like a true public servant.' Arellano also called the recall effort 'GOP-backed,' pointing to an email sent out by the San Francisco Republican Party this week that encouraged followers to join Saturday's rally. Jamie Hughes, one of the lead organizers for the recall, said that the effort includes 'everybody from every ideology' and that the group tries 'to stay away from labels.' Hughes is an ally of former progressive San Francisco Board of Supervisors president Aaron Peskin. He said the recall campaign isn't coordinating with the Republican Party and argued that GOP support shows that the recall is drawing people from all sides of the political spectrum. That's because, in his words, 'Joel messed up.' Recall proponents said the recall isn't only about the Great Highway, but how Engardio's behavior during the past year showed what they consider to be a lack of transparency, accountability and representation. John Higgins, a Sunset resident, said he never even used the Great Highway and is not looking to reopen it, but he felt Engardio lied about his stance. He pointed to how Engardio, alongside four other city supervisors, submitted a proposal to place Proposition K on the ballot on June 18, 2024, the last possible day for them to do so. 'These are shady methods,' Higgins said. Many recall proponents said they were taken by surprise, only learning about Engardio's proposal through news articles, and were upset that Engardio never held town halls prior to placing the issue on the ballot. Many said they thought Engardio had lied to them because, in 2022, while campaigning against then-incumbent District 4 supervisor Gordon Mar, he had said he supported what was then the status quo of pedestrianizing the highway on weekends only. 'Had he told this district when he was running for supervisor that he was going to close down the Great Highway 24/7, he would never have been elected,' Chen said. Engardio rejected that characterization. He supported the status quo in 2022, he said, compared to the alternative at the time, which was a ballot measure to open the Great Highway to cars 24/7. He said he had told voters he didn't want to rule out the option of a permanent park in place of the highway when campaigning in 2022. He also posted on X, then known as Twitter, in December 2022, after being elected, 'I believe the future is a permanent oceanside park.' Those explanations ring hollow to Selena Chu, who had campaigned to elect Engardio in 2022, believing he supported the compromise of keeping the highway open to cars on weekdays. 'We felt our voice was heard and that's why we advocated for this person,' Chu, a recall organizer, said. 'It was a personal betrayal and it was also a betrayal to the community. This was a guy I had advocated for for two years.' As Chu walked down 22nd Avenue Saturday, a fellow Sunset resident, spotting Chu's Recall Engardio sign, started clapping. 'Everything he's done has been underhanded,' Gene Pulliam, who's lived in the Sunset for 60 years, said to Chu. 'He put the paperwork in the last week or something. That's just wrong.'
