Orientalism

Orient, meaning “the East,” is juxtaposed to Occident, “the West.” Orientalism is a system of thoughts, beliefs, theories, and discourses propagated by Western scholars about the East, including Middle East as well as Asia. Orientalism describes the representation and the construction of the East in the imagination of the West. The East is the “other” to the West.

As a projection and a reflection of the West, Orientalism reflects the history of colonialism and imperialism. As the object of the Western imagination, the East is seen as “the uncivilized,” “the savage,” “the undeveloped,” “the weak,” and “the feminized,” while the West is considered as “the superior,” “the civilized,” “the strong,” and “the masculine.” In this regard, Orientalism represents a simplistic labeling or stereotyping of people of the East. The simplicity can be seen in the traditional view of the Orient as a relatively unchanging people with few distinctions among them worthy of serious attention. Even today, the general public and some policymakers may be unaware of the complexity of Muslim and Arab peoples of the world.

Orientalism dates back to the 19th century, when Orientalists translated the writings of the Orient into English. These writings were deemed as necessary knowledge for the domination and the colonization of the East. It was thought that the knowledge about the Orient would assist the imperial and colonial project of the West. In this sense, the Orient was traditionally the passive object for study by Orientalists, while some scholars in the area attempted to offer a different voice.

The best-known scholar on this topic is Edward W Said (1935–2003), whose seminal work, Orientalism, deconstructs the system of orientalism. Said earned a BA from Princeton University and an MA and PhD from Harvard University. He took a position at Columbia University in 1963 and served as a faculty in English and Comparative Literature for several decades. As a pro-Palestinian activist, Said campaigned for a creation of an independent Palestinian state. From 1977 to 1991, Said was an independent member of the Palestinian National Council. He supported a two-state solution. As a public intellectual, his work impacted the younger generations of scholars on colonialism, post-colonialism, cultural studies, and literary studies.

In Orientalism, Said argues that Western scholars, with Eurocentric prejudice, misrepresent the Middle East and Islam. Western thought sustained a history of false representation and romanticized the image of Arab-Islamic peoples and their culture. Until recently, this long history of romanticization and misrepresentation of the East justified the colonization and the domination of the East. The concept of Orientalism continues to be important in contemporary neocolo-nial and postcolonial context.