Orientalism Edward W Said Knowledge Structures 17 610

Orientalism Edward W. Said Knowledge Structures 17: 610: 580 Professor Marija Dalbello

Orientalism was written to show European-American power over the orient and the mystification of “the Other”. • Argument put forth by Said is contained in the • • • analytical method he puts forth for the reader. Namely, the classic Oriental view is the result of an academic bias necessitated by Western Colonial and Post-Colonial politics The Oriental is portrayed as a static “Other” – creating a culture that is an object lacking humanism. The Western goal was to justify colonial politics, economics and hegemony over the centuries.

Knowledge that is “true” is not political; rather it is based on one’s experience – knowledge is something that must be gained. • Said’s work asserts its credibility as he writes as • • one who is experienced in the study of both the Occident and the Orient Said is a Palestinian Exile Said writes as a Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University He is a Western Oriental His grasp of History is broad and impressive in its scope as it relates to his analysis

Orientalism is designed to challenge the bias imbedded in the Western consciousness • The Orient was, for centuries, based upon an • • • intellectual construct that reinforced conditions of inequality Said successfully argues the nature of cross cultural discourse needs to be reexamined The Orient that Said places in front of the reader is of “cultures, traditions, and societies” polarized by a Western power agenda Cultural growth is denied the Orient with progress claimed and administered by the Occident

Journals • Between the years 1979 through 1981 hundreds of • articles have been written about Orientalism. In 2000, Eddie Yeghiayan, the Special Collections Librarian of University of California Irvine, compiled a list of reviews on Orientalism. – – – 32% of the essays were From Political Science and Historical Journals. 32% were from Academic Journals. 25% from Newspaper articles. 10% from Literary Journals. 1% from other sources. • Orientalism was such a controversial essay that it was able to impact many different thought genres after the first couple years of its publication.

Orientalism Said’s knowledge of Orient Scholars is very deep and broad in its scope • Prominent scholars, from Renan, Lane to Marx, saw the • • • Orient as a locale requiring Western attention, reconstruction even redemption Early 20 th Century view in Imperial Britain was of a place that was “the rather necessary furniture of Empire” Later part of 20 th century Kissinger as man of power portrays Orient in classic sense whereas Philosopher Foucault’s theories are applied to show basic ideas of humanity in the Orient are changed by the history they seek to represent Knowledge of the Orient and other cultures can not come from political or even vicarious experience – It must rise from actual experience of the humanity studied Lord Curzon

Orientalism and Knowledge Structures and the Information Professions • Orientalism was written to show the impact of mystifying “the other”. • As an MLIS candidate, it is important to realize that mystification still takes place today, in the form of one’s own biases. • Information Professionals deal with users that create bias, as well as repeat historical biases.