Orientalism has several extraordinary however interrelated meanings. In its widespread experience, it describes the manner wherein the West looks on the Orient as a way to understand it in the context of Western experience. extra particularly, Orientalism is a express approach via Western scholars as an attempt to form a collective body of understanding approximately the Orient. covered in this employer is the observe of eastern philosophies, history, religion, subculture, language and social structures. To understand the impact of Orientalism on Islamic philosophy, however, we need first to recognize it as a political doctrine; from its inception, Orientalism was usually political and secondarily cultural and philosophical.
The European narrative that dominated the documents, political archives, and literature on the scientific reasoning for colonialism created the historical paradigms written by those in charge. Western ideas of social Darwinism, bringing capitalism and advancements to ‘backwards’ countries comprised the rhetoric of colonialism. Postcolonial historians, however, bring culture and agency back to the colonized people. The discussion of the term postcolonial in and of itself represents the continued problems historians face. Historians question the accuracy of the word ‘postcolonial’, as European descendants of
It is an ideology fabricated by the West, Its main factors are the "periodic exclusion of the East from the Western gaze and the continual repudiation of the East in favor the moral and cultural coordinates of the West (Martin & Koda, 1994, p. 9). According to Said (1978), orientalism is a product of the imagination of those people who come to know themselves, their culture and territories as European and later as the West. Said (1978) defines orientalism as a style of thought based on " ontological and epistemological distinction between the 'Orient ' and the 'Occident ' (p.3). According to Martin and Koda (1994), the West 's failure to achieve full comprehension of the East is the reason for the inscrutability attributed to the East. In fact, it is through orientalism that the West sees its culture as complete and uses it to see itself as whole.
It was first used by historians after World War II as “post-colonial state” referring to post-independence period. That’s to say in its original usage, the prefix “post” in post-colonial indicated its chronological meaning. Yet, from the late 1970s its scope has been broadened and moving beyond the limited discursive meaning of postcolonialism, referring to the chronological period of post-independence, literary critics used it to problematize the social, cultural, political and economic consequences of colonization on colonized countries. For instance, Ania Loomba defines postcolonialism as a theory about “… the complex forms in which subjectivities are experienced and collectivities mobilized; … and about the ethnographic translation of cultures” (Loomba et al., 13-14). In Postcolonialism- An Historical Introduction (2001), Robert Young proposes that “postcolonial theory is always concerned with the positive and the negative effects of the mixing of peoples and cultures” (Young 69).
In the course Introduction to American culture we have been discussing about many subjects and I find the term orientalism particulary interesting because it can be related to other terms as representation, feminism, power and many others. There are many different scholars who have tried to define the term orientalism, but Edward Said was the most successful in defining it in his book Orientalism. ˝Orientalism is a style of thought based upon an ontological and epistemological distinction made between "the Orient" and (most of the time) "the Occident"… In short, Orientalism as a Western style for dominating, restructuring, and having authority over the Orient. (Said, 1978) ˝. The West has been viewing the East for centuries as undeveloped, primitive, exotic and it has created a stereotype of the Eastern culture.
Orientalism and Post 9/11 Novels I. Introduction: Islam forms the main focus of many English writers and orientalists whose works have, to a great deal, followed the stereotypical position in presenting Islam as a retrogressive religion and Muslims as aggressive, anti-modernity, and death lovers. Such stereotypical portrayal of Islam and Muslims in general and Arab Muslims in particular, is originated from what Edward W. Said has defined as Orientalism. Orientalism as a discourse is concerned with studying the cultures of Orients and provides a rationalization for European colonialism and Western’s interventions in East. In his pioneering book, Orientalism, Edward W. Said, explains the term orientalism as the acceptance in the West of “the
Postcolonial literature has been popular for its larger part of the theorist (“Postcolonialism” 225). “ Racial discrimination is a theme that runs throughout postcolonial discourse, as white Europeans consistently emphasized their superiority over darker skinned people,” (“Postcolonialism” 231). Race, language and identity is a main part of Postcolonial. The Postcolonialism was after the countries gained its independence from Great Britain (“Postcolonialism” 225). Cultural difference were one of the main reasons of postcolonial, the separation between two or more ethnic groups.
By defining orientalism in general is the term used by the historians, geographers, literary and cultural studies scholars when the studying the Middle Eastern, South Asian, African, East Asian culture or so called Eastern Culture, language and people by exaggerating, emphasizing and their way of seeing the Arab peoples by explaining differences with the Western (occident) or European while having ideas or images of the Arab peoples or the East (orient) as inferior, uncivilised and dangerous. In brief definition orientalism is ‘the study of near and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages and peoples by Western Scholars’ (New World Encyclopaedia). Edward Said definitions of Orientalism has three basic meanings; Orientalism as an academic
“Every effort is made to bring the colonised person to admit the inferiority of his culture which has been transformed into instinctive patterns of behaviour, to recognise the unreality of his 'nation ', and, in the last extreme, the confused and imperfect character of his own biological structure.” As Frantz Fanons (1959) speech highlights, culture and Imperialism go hand in hand. Where there is culture and potential for expansion of the coloniser, imperialism will seek to conquer and eliminate. The Encyclopaedia Britannica describes imperialism as “state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas”. Imperialism drives
Student’s Name Professor’s Name Subject DD MM YYYY ORIENTALISM Orientalism is an imagery pictured from the Western lens that visualizes differences of the Middle-east(Orient), specifically the Arab people, to the West(Occident) in terms of culture, norms, and sometimes, appearance. However, a significant amount of early oriental literature is not empirical, but imaginative. It involves seeing Arab culture as exotic, backward, uncivilized, and at times dangerous. Evolution of Orientalism The inception of Orientalism dates back to the early 19th century, however, it was revolutionized and shown in stark contrast only in 1978 by Palestinian writer, intellectual, and literary/cultural critic Edward Said in his book Orientalism. This essay will