Date:  Wed, 13 Mar 1996 10:05:01 -0500

From:  Wayne Glowka <wglowka[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]MAIL.GAC.PEACHNET.EDU>

Subject: Re: Asian



>On Tue, 12 Mar 1996, Ron Rabin wrote:

>

>> Has the meaning of Asian changed recently in American English?

>> When Oriental became no longer PC, Asian was substituted.  Does Asian

>> now mean what Oriental used to mean whatever Asian used to mean before

>> this substitution?

>> Ideas?



Aaron Drews' comments made me think of how "oriental" is used to describe

religions. Although we often talk of Christianity as as Western religion,

I run across comments in myth texts in which Christianity, like the cult of

Adonis, is called an "oriental religion." But it would be hard to call

Christianity an "Asian religion." Such a term would make me think more of

religions like Buddhism or Shintoism, which come from farther east. The

problem is that Asia is too large. It's hard to think of the Middle East

as Asian or West Asian or of Middle Easterners as Asians or West

Asians--which makes you wonder about Russians as Eastern Occidentals or

Californians as Western Occidentals or--time to go read finals for the

quarter.





Wayne Glowka

Professor of English

Director of Research and Graduate Student Services

Georgia College

Milledgeville, GA 31061

912-453-4222

wglowka[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]mail.gac.peachnet.edu