Orientalism
by Edward W. Said. - London : Penguin, 2019 [1978]. - 406 p. ; 19,5 cm Includes notes, index
ISBN: 9780141187426
In this wide-ranging study, Said traces the origins of ‘Orientalism' to the centuries-long period during which Europe dominated the Middle and Near East and, from its position of power, defined "the orient" simply as "other than" the occident. According to Said, this entrenched view continues to dominate western ideas and, because it does not allow the East to represent itself, prevents true understanding. Said argues that ‘Orientalism', in the sense of the Western scholarship about the Eastern World, is inextricably tied to the imperialist societies who produced it, which makes much Orientalist work inherently political and servile to power. As a public intellectual, Said debated with historians and scholars who described the thesis of Orientalism as ‘anti-Western'. This publication contains the preface Said wrote for the 2003 edition, addressing discussions of the book as cultural criticism.
In later years the term ‘Occidentalism' occured (James Carrier, Ian Buruma), an inversion of ‘Orientalism', and meant to indicate stereotyped and sometimes dehumanizing views on the Western world.
