Orientalist? “ Oriental studies ” “ area studies ”

1. Orientalist? “Oriental studies” “area studies”

2. Edward W. Said(1935-2003) Orientalism (pub. 1978)

3. The Orient: Western system of representations presenting the East as inferior image of West Orientalism: Western thinking dominated by biases stemming from the above The Oriental: Person represented by such thinking. Men are feminine in nature, weak, but dangerous to white western women. Women are eager to be dominated and very exotic

4. Latent Orientalism: Regarding the Orient as a world that does not change... ...a world that is separate, eccentric, backward... ...a world that is sensual, passive and essentially different from the West

5. Manifest Orientalism: Speaking and acting upon latent Orientalism. Changes in knowledge and policy making based on Orientalist thinking

6. Said, following Foucault, views knowledge as means to power: by knowing the Orient, West takes power over it, while Orient remains passive entity Orientalists regarding Orient as cohesive, single entity covering Middle East and much of Asia, despite actual diversity of cultures therein. Orient as backward, strange, unchanging, to be dominated by West, view encouraging and supported by western policy makers

7. Said calls for a rejection of Orientalist thinking; assumptions about oriental biology and culture; racial and religious prejudices; greed as motivation for intellectual activities. Calls for breaking down of barrier between West and Orient in eyes of scholars. Encourages avoidance of sweeping generalisations in favour of detailed study of variety of human experience, using fair representation rather than political and ideological agendas

8. Some objections to Said’s view: Problem of West’s distorted view of East vs. domination of region by West. Lack of clear link between Orientalism and western policy making Poor handling of historical material, taking sources out of context and making major errors of fact. Also assumes that misrepresentation and colonialism are uniquely western phenomena, which they are not

9. Some objections to Said’s view: Said assumes all scholars attempt to know East as an act of aggression, when most are more sympathetic to region than general public. Said’s view tars all scholars with same brush and silences opposing debate, while turning “Orientalist” into an insult