BC change to CE

Wontactmyage

Wontactmyage

Daisy Hill Studio
Location
A fly over State, USA
My husband and I took a short trip to Ball State University to see their art museum. For seven ye have traveled to many art museums around the USA.

Today we found in the older pieces they had used CE instead of BC to date the pieces. Of course we were confused so we asked. It seems the dating BC- before Christ is no longer acceptable it is now CE- common era. When asked, nobody new why or when this changed.
It appears it changed to remove God from the dating of art even if it is a religious piece.

Of course this is our academia, nothing better to do. Also reading the details of whomever described each piece was over wrought with their “special” expression of each piece.
Most Galleries we visit depict the basics but this time they wanted to tell us how to “feel” about the pieces. Oh well, it was a college after all.
 

Murrmurr said:
Archeologists and historians have used CE and BCE for several hundred years....since the mid-to-late 1700s, I think. I don't really have a problem with that, but I hate that the art museum interpreted the art for you. That's no fun at all and it completely removes the adventure and awe.
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I ended up reading so many of the descriptions when I looked at the art I started a debate with the written word over what I saw in the art.
And yes you are correct about some archeologists and historians but not many times in art.
 
Not sure where you've been, but it was in common use, including museums, over 24 years ago when my son was an undergrad. We toured Cambridge & Boston and no one was using AD or BC in that neck of the woods. I remember as I forgot what the new terms meant and had to ask. That included art museums.
 
Some calendars have weeks that begin on Monday instead of Sunday so that the Christian sabbath (Sunday) falls on the seventh day. It's even the default for many web calendars and you have to manually change it so the week begins on Sunday.

These same people refuse to use BCE/CE like the rest of the world and are now trying to change the order of the days in the week, which would also be different from the rest of the world.

I mean, there's nothing wrong with being different, but calendar demarcation perhaps isn't the right time or place for letting your freak flag fly. 🤣
 
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I've been hearing and seeing BCE/CE all my life. It has long been accepted as a way of designating dates, for those who do not accept Jesus as being "Christ." So the term "Common Era" is much more neutral and inoffensive, and means the same thing, datewise.
 
Sunny said:
I've been hearing and seeing BCE/CE all my life. It has long been accepted as a way of designating dates, for those who do not accept Jesus as being "Christ." So the term "Common Era" is much more neutral and inoffensive, and means the same thing, datewise.
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BCE and CE have been increasingly mainstream descriptors for at least a decade. Shrug...
No big deal.
 
Pepper said:
Not sure where you've been, but it was in common use, including museums, over 24 years ago when my son was an undergrad. We toured Cambridge & Boston and no one was using AD or BC in that neck of the woods. I remember as I forgot what the new terms meant and had to ask. That included art museums.
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I'm the same as the person you were replying to- I'd never seen it til a couple of years ago either.
 

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