Woke wars: Edinburghâs computer scientists banned from using âAlice and Bobâ as too âWesternâ
Staff also urged to avoid âmaster/slaveâ terminology as part of University of Edinburghâs latest decolonisation efforts
The names Alice and Bob should not be used, computer science lecturers have been told, in the latest decolonisation drive at the University of Edinburgh.
The top-flight Russell Group universityâs school of informatics claims there are âproblematic issues related to computing terminologyâ.
Staff should âavoid using predominantly Western names such as Alice/Bob, as is common in the computer security literatureâ, according to internal documents seen by The Telegraph.
In cryptography and digital culture, Alice and Bob are a fictional couple widely used as placeholders to illustrate how protocols and systems work.
The terms âmaster/slaveâ to represent computing agents are also being discouraged in the facultyâs courses, with staff urged to âinstead use coordinator or workersâ.
It forms part of intensifying decolonisation efforts at the institution, which has formed a steering group of academics to identify âcontroversial elements of the universityâs pastâ so that âreparatory recommendationsâ can be made.
On Saturday night, a former education minister branded the moves âpreposterousâ and a âtyrannicalâ attempt to police thoughts.
The faculty, which runs various computer science courses, said it âmust challenge and rework the current pedagogy (approach to teaching), which was rooted in imperial and colonial ideas about knowledge and learningâ.
Lecturers in the faculty have been asked to consider whether there is âany terminology used in the course that can be offensive or exclusionaryâ, to spotlight the work of âunder-represented pioneersâ and ensure case studies are âdiverseâ.
In a recent review of decolonising actions taken in informatics, course leaders said they were âinstructing markers to not penalise grammar/English issues in the courseworkâ to increase diversity.
Senior managers are also carrying out an âinclusivity impact assessmentâ of any new courses before they can be approved to ensure âevery new course will have to explicitly consider decolonisationâ, the documents said.
Sir John Hayes, the chairman of the Common Sense Group of more than 50 Tory MPs, said: âThe distortion of language has been used by tyrants through time because when you distort language you begin to control thought.
âI will be writing to Edinburgh University to make clear that no public money ought to be spent on this kind of nonsense.
âThe silent majority of people in the United Kingdom regard this as the pedantics of those people who spend too much time in a common room and not enough in the real world.â
The latest decolonisation drive comes after the University of Edinburgh renamed the David Hume Tower because activists dug out comments the Scottish enlightenment philosopher made about race in the 18th century.
And earlier this year an Edinburgh social anthropology lecturer, Dr Neil Thin, was subject to a lengthy disciplinary probe â and cleared â after students complained about his âproblematicâ views, notably his opposition to the renaming decision.
The two incidents prompted staff to call for Edinburghâs principal, Prof Peter Mathieson, to step down, alleging an âintolerant and illiberalâ culture hostile to free speech on campus.
Academics at Edinburgh have told this newspaper that they feel âalienatedâ by the universityâs decolonisation. They claim it is âpredicated on the bizarre assumption that only white people are racistâ and riddled with inconsistencies that ignores countries accused of modern-day rights abuses, such as China.
A University of Edinburgh spokesperson said: âAs an institution we are committed to addressing contemporary and historic inequalities with respect to race and our schools are aware of this. In this case the school have developed guidance to ensure that materials produced reflect the diverse and international nature of our community.â
