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A review by artemistheactivist
Orientalism by Edward W. Said
4.0
This book addresses the prejudiced, dominating framework that has represented the Oriental and
the Orient for centuries and lasts up to the present. He calls this framework ‘Orientalism’; it is about
all things considered Oriental, the Oriental deemed as an aspect of the West. In his book he writes:
‘Orientalism (...) has less to do with the Orient than it does with ‘our’ world.’ and ‘Only the Orientalist
can interpret the Orient because according to literature, the Oriental was incapable of representing
himself’ (Said, E. 2003). ‘Orientalism’ can be defined as the study of the Orient, the idea of Europeans
against all non-Europeans, Occident versus Orient. The Orient extended from China to the
Mediterranean Sea.
Said choose to mainly speak about the Middle-East, the Arabs and Islam. This is because he was born
in the Middle-East and he found that the framework ‘Orientalism’ misrepresented, stereotyped and
dehumanized his culture and people.
Said’s main point in Orientalism, I believe, is that the concept we have of the
Orient and Oriental is not real, it was invented by the West (mainly England, France and the United
States) through colonialism and centuries of misrepresentation in art, literature and current media.
With ‘Orientalism’ the West was able to demand power over the East, show Western ‘superiority’,
create generalities and stereotypes and establish a division between West and East. I think Said’s
theory comes down to that ‘Orientalism’ is actually drawn from perceived knowledge and power and
therefore ‘Orientalism’ is a system for restraining and governing the Orient, rather than actual
knowledge of the Orient.
The author’s discourse was inspired by Michel Foucault’s notion of discourse, that discourses are
shaped by institutionalize ways of representation and that they define social reality, but Said added
that the discourse he described was made and affected by colonialism.
I think the book is of great importance for people’s general understanding of world
dynamics and prejudice. The reading is also important because it confronts the West with its fixed
ideas of the East. Therefore I believe that Orientalism should be approachable to everyone. Although
the book is translated in many languages, I would argue that it is not as accessible as one might think.
I found the book written with quite a challenging vocabulary which could create an obstacle for most
readers.
What surprised me while reading, was that my conception of the subject of the book was changed.
At first, I thought it would be about the Orient or in this case the Middle East, but through the pages I
started to realize that the text actually concerns the West. About how the Orient is represented in
the West.
the Orient for centuries and lasts up to the present. He calls this framework ‘Orientalism’; it is about
all things considered Oriental, the Oriental deemed as an aspect of the West. In his book he writes:
‘Orientalism (...) has less to do with the Orient than it does with ‘our’ world.’ and ‘Only the Orientalist
can interpret the Orient because according to literature, the Oriental was incapable of representing
himself’ (Said, E. 2003). ‘Orientalism’ can be defined as the study of the Orient, the idea of Europeans
against all non-Europeans, Occident versus Orient. The Orient extended from China to the
Mediterranean Sea.
Said choose to mainly speak about the Middle-East, the Arabs and Islam. This is because he was born
in the Middle-East and he found that the framework ‘Orientalism’ misrepresented, stereotyped and
dehumanized his culture and people.
Said’s main point in Orientalism, I believe, is that the concept we have of the
Orient and Oriental is not real, it was invented by the West (mainly England, France and the United
States) through colonialism and centuries of misrepresentation in art, literature and current media.
With ‘Orientalism’ the West was able to demand power over the East, show Western ‘superiority’,
create generalities and stereotypes and establish a division between West and East. I think Said’s
theory comes down to that ‘Orientalism’ is actually drawn from perceived knowledge and power and
therefore ‘Orientalism’ is a system for restraining and governing the Orient, rather than actual
knowledge of the Orient.
The author’s discourse was inspired by Michel Foucault’s notion of discourse, that discourses are
shaped by institutionalize ways of representation and that they define social reality, but Said added
that the discourse he described was made and affected by colonialism.
I think the book is of great importance for people’s general understanding of world
dynamics and prejudice. The reading is also important because it confronts the West with its fixed
ideas of the East. Therefore I believe that Orientalism should be approachable to everyone. Although
the book is translated in many languages, I would argue that it is not as accessible as one might think.
I found the book written with quite a challenging vocabulary which could create an obstacle for most
readers.
What surprised me while reading, was that my conception of the subject of the book was changed.
At first, I thought it would be about the Orient or in this case the Middle East, but through the pages I
started to realize that the text actually concerns the West. About how the Orient is represented in
the West.