There are some areas in academia (esp. among Lit. Crit. and cultural studies types) where the term DWEM (dead white european male) is used to criticize the trad

There are some areas in academia (esp. among Lit. Crit. and cultural studies types) where the term DWEM (dead white european male) is used to criticize the traditional canon as a kind of cultural chauvinism. I studied Classics where that sentiment was not popular, and it wasn't something historians cared much about. I did have some really disturbing conversations with hard-core feminists and black studies students where they radically misunderstood what they thought they were criticizing, so it's a thing in some domains. There are some people who really think that the ideas of the birthplace of constitutional democratic governance are at the root of authoritarianism and imperialism. The tendency to diminish the accomplishment of the Greeks was much more a thing in popularizing literature (things like Black Athena) than serious academic work. So it depends a lot on the department (and the prof.), and on the type of work they were doing. Oldest Dead White European Males was also the title of a book by Bernard Knox explaining the relevance, originality, and significance of the Greeks.