The University of Southern California's School of Social Work has published a letter saying it will remove the word 'field' from its curriculum and practice and replace it with the word 'practicum' instead.

The move is meant to reflect 'anti-racist' values, but some have argued that it insults the intelligence of the people who it is addressing.

’This change supports anti-racist social work practice by replacing language that could be considered anti-Black or anti-immigrant in favor of inclusive language,' the letter read.

'Language can be powerful, and phrases such as "going into the field" or "field work" may have connotations for descendants of slavery and immigrant workers that are not benign.'

Houman David Hemmati, a board-certified MD Ophthalmologist and PhD research scientist, tweeted: 'Today, @uscsocialwork sent out this letter announcing that they will no longer use the word 'field' (as in 'conducting field work') because it's perceived as racist. Is this with merit or empty virtue signaling?'.

An Opinion piece by the Washington Examiner said: 'Only an overeducated, self-righteous, supercilious left-wing academic elitist would think of something like this. It is an outlandish statement and indicative of the intellectual rot that plagues universities throughout the country.'

It noted that immigrants and black people are not the only ones who 'go into the field', highlighting how farmers of Asian and European descent throughout history have survived thousands of years of human civilization without being troubled by the use of the term.