Ancient Palestine – Statement from The Open University

Posted on 4 March 2026 • Uncategorised

There have been suggestions that The Open University has decided to stop using the term ‘Ancient Palestine’ in all its teaching materials. This is not the case. 

Academic colleagues remain free to use the term ‘Ancient Palestine’. Decisions about the use of terminology are matters of academic judgement, made by individual academics and teaching teams in line with disciplinary conventions and their professional expertise.  

That position has been clearly communicated across the University.  

Previous correspondence with an external organisation related wholly to a specific inquiry about one case study framed within a particular module. That module is scheduled for replacement as part of normal curriculum renewal. The response clearly defended the use of the term ‘Ancient Palestine’ in our teaching materials and confirmed that it would continue to be used within the current module.  

With respect to this case study, it was decided that additional contextual material would be added to support students’ learning within what is an introductory Arts module. Such decisions form part of routine academic practice and reflect our commitment to helping students engage critically with differing historical interpretations.  

Whilst our defence of the academic right to use the term ‘Ancient Palestine’ has been clear throughout, we recognise that aspects of the earlier correspondence relating to future changes to that one module may have caused confusion when read outside their immediate context. That response sought to be transparent about anticipated changes as part of routine module refresh, which would remove the unit containing that case study. It was not intended to suggest any wider institutional shift, nor any change in response to concerns raised about the use of the term.  

There has been no institutional discussion about prohibiting or removing the term ‘Ancient Palestine’. The use of terminology in all our curriculum remains a matter for academic judgement, consistent with our commitment to academic freedom and scholarly independence.