Nonfiction

Orientalism

Orientalism

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  • Author：Edward W. Said
  • ISBN：0141187425
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Summary

More than three decades after its first publication， Edward Said's groundbreaking critique of the West's historical， cultural， and political perceptions of the East has become a modern classic。

In this wide-ranging， intellectually vigorous 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。 This entrenched view continues to dominate western ideas and， because it does not allow the East to represent itself， prevents true understanding。 Essential， and still eye-opening， Orientalism remains one of the most important books written about our divided world。

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Reviews

Patrick Lum ，

I think I need to take a masters course to understand this better， but I can at least grok the generalities， and it is sad to see not much has moved on in the popular media at least some this was published。

Rob Hamer ，

This is quite a tome to even attempt to comment on。 Up front I must confess doing a high level cursory read - anything else feels like it would take a lifetime ！ Reading the book in this way introduced me to the thinking that started the pendulum swinging back from the approaches to understanding the Orient which were no doubt patronizing ，paternalistic and self serving 。 And having grown up in South Africa I can see how those approaches resonate with African colonialism 。 So certainly eye openi This is quite a tome to even attempt to comment on。 Up front I must confess doing a high level cursory read - anything else feels like it would take a lifetime ！ Reading the book in this way introduced me to the thinking that started the pendulum swinging back from the approaches to understanding the Orient which were no doubt patronizing ，paternalistic and self serving 。 And having grown up in South Africa I can see how those approaches resonate with African colonialism 。 So certainly eye opening although probably in itself one sided 。 It’s also possible to discern how others of a revisionist bent are perhaps engaged in the process of pushing the pendulum of understanding too far the other way。 The very least one takes away from this is to properly apply filters of discernment to any analysis one is fed 。 5* for the writing quality， range of research and the innovation in thinking that showed much of western attitude to the Orient being a case of the emperor with no clothes 。 。。。more

Hassan G ，

Astoundingly enlightening。 Writing a review calls for a reread

Dimitrii Ivanov ，

Great overview of one specific essentialist folly and its sociopolitical causes and repercussions。 Very pointed which makes the point all the more salient （not salient enough for some though， as the afterword makes clear）。 One annoying bit is that the quotes in French and German are left untranslated， perhaps to make the reader feel inadequate （although more likely a discipline convention）。

Hannah Bottum ，

Should be required reading for college！ Especially IR majors！！

paula b （dostoievske） ，

Una interesante aproximación a los estudios poscoloniales y que puede servir para deconstruir la visión asimilada que tenemos los occidentales en general de Oriente tanto en términos de literatura como históricos。 No obstante， a veces la lectura puede volverse pesada por el lenguaje excesivamente académico y la abundancia de ejemplos。 No es precisamente una lectura ligera。

Peter Dodds ，

Great point that he definitely could have stated with 1/5 of the text in this book。

halia ，

3。5…took me a long ass time to read but it was really well written and thought provoking… as he said in the afterword， edward said is careful not to condemn the west or glorify the east。 he examines the colonialist methods of thinking that then evolved into orientalism in the west， and even touches on the way in which society discusses the israeli occupation of palestine， and how it leads back to the idea of classification he had been restating throughout the entirety of the book。 very interesti 3。5…took me a long ass time to read but it was really well written and thought provoking… as he said in the afterword， edward said is careful not to condemn the west or glorify the east。 he examines the colonialist methods of thinking that then evolved into orientalism in the west， and even touches on the way in which society discusses the israeli occupation of palestine， and how it leads back to the idea of classification he had been restating throughout the entirety of the book。 very interesting subject matter， and i think it would be useful for people to read。 。。。more

Liting ，

I'd really love an updated translation for this book。 I'd really love an updated translation for this book。 。。。more

Canon ，

"And what better norm for the scholar than human freedom and knowledge？"This was both a right-book-at-the-right-time read and a book I wish I'd read years ago。 In other words， in addition to being rich in new insights， it brilliantly articulated for me many points I'd been thinking about for a while， in my meandering， undisciplined fashion。 In bracing， literary prose， Said cuts through so much confusion， stupidity， and bullshit manacling human thought and agency — as depicted gifwise:Below are e "And what better norm for the scholar than human freedom and knowledge？"This was both a right-book-at-the-right-time read and a book I wish I'd read years ago。 In other words， in addition to being rich in new insights， it brilliantly articulated for me many points I'd been thinking about for a while， in my meandering， undisciplined fashion。 In bracing， literary prose， Said cuts through so much confusion， stupidity， and bullshit manacling human thought and agency — as depicted gifwise:Below are examples of Said's critical insights， from some of my favorite passages。— — — — — — — —"For that is the main intellectual issue raised by Orientalism。 Can one divide human reality。。。 into clearly different cultures， histories， traditions， societies， even races， and survive the consequences humanly？ By surviving the consequences humanly， I mean to ask whether there is any way of avoiding the hostility expressed by the division， say， of men into 'us' （Westerners） and 'they' （Orientals）。""After all， Orientalism is a study based on the rethinking of what had for centuries been believed to be an unbridgeable chasm separating East from West。 My aim， as I said earlier， was not so much to dissipate difference itself — for who can deny the constitutive role of national as well as cultural differences in the relations between human beings — but to challenge the notion that difference implies hostility， a frozen reified set of opposed essences， and a whole adversarial knowledge built out of those things。""The methodological failures of Orientalism cannot be accounted for either by saying that the real Orient is different from Orientalist portraits of it， or by saying that since Orientalists are Westerners for the most part， they cannot be expected to have an inner sense of what the Orient is all about。 Both of these propositions are false。 It is not the thesis of this book to suggest that there is such a thing as a real or true Orient （Islam， Arab， or whatever）; nor is it to make an assertion about the necessary privilege of an 'insider' perspective over an 'outsider' one， to use Robert K。 Merton's useful distinction。 On the contrary， I have been arguing that 'the Orient' is itself a constituted entity， and that the notion that there are geographical spaces with indigenous， radically 'different' inhabitants who can be defined on the basis of some religion， culture， or racial essence proper to that geographical space is equally a highly debatable idea。 I certainly do not believe the limited proposition that only a black can write about blacks， a Muslim about Muslims， and so forth。""I say that words such as 'Orient' and 'Occident' correspond to no stable reality that exists as a natural fact… The central point。。。 is。。。 as Vico taught us， that human history is made by human beings… no one finds it easy to live uncomplainingly and fearlessly with the thesis that human reality is constantly being made and unmade， and that anything like a stable essence is constantly under threat。 Patriotism， extreme xenophobic nationalism， and downright unpleasant chauvinism are common responses to this fear。 We all need some foundation on which to stand; the question is how extreme and unchangeable is our formulation of what this foundation is。 My position is that in the case of an essential Islam or Orient， these images are no more than images， and are upheld as such both by the community of the Muslim faithful and （the correspondence is significant） by the community of Orientalists。" "Part of the resistance and hostility to books like Orientalism… stems from the fact that they seem to undermine the naive belief in the certain positivity and unchanging historicity of a culture， a self， a national identity。 Orientalism can only be read as a defense of Islam by suppressing half of my argument， in which I say… that even the primitive community we belong to natally is not immune from the interpretive contest， and that what appears in the West to be the emergence， return to， or resurgence of Islam is in fact a struggle in Islamic societies over the definition of Islam。 No one person， authority， or institution has total control over that definition; hence， of course， the contest。 Fundamentalism's epistemological mistake is to think that 'fundamentals' are ahistorical categories， not subject to and therefore outside the critical scrutiny of true believers， who are supposed to accept them on faith。。。""It was assumed that if languages were as distinct from each other as the linguists said they were， then too the language users — their minds， cultures， potentials， and even their bodies。。。 And these distinctions had the force of ontological， empirical truth behind them， together with the convincing demonstration of such truth in studies of origins， development， character， and destiny。""Renan's relations with his Oriental subject matter。。。 can be described， then， without resorting to formulae that depend on an unexamined assumption of ontological stability （e。g。， the Zeitgeist， the history of ideas， life-and-times）。 Instead we are able to read Renan as a writer doing something describable， in a place defined temporally， spatially， and culturally （hence archivally）， for an audience。。。""In fact， what took place was the very opposite of liberal: the hardening of doctrine and meaning， imparted by 'science，' into 'truth。'""The relatively earthbound experiences of war， colonialism， imperialism， economic oppression， love， death， and cultural exchange seem always in Massignon's eyes to be filtered through metaphysical， ultimately dehumanized lenses: they are Semitic， European， Oriental， Occidental， Aryan， and so on… neither man is concerned by such wholesale designations as 'Islam' or 'the Orient' being used as proper nouns， with adjectives attached and verbs streaming forth， as if they referred to persons and not to Platonic ideas。" 。。。more

Thomas ，

Timeless， eternally relevant， glad to have finally sat down and read more than the introduction

boocia ，

i mean i'm not an expert， right。 i very much feel a lot of my own blind spots wrt to literature+colonialhistory when reading this book， but it was a really fun read。 slapdash thoughtsOne thing I loved about this book is that it is， Thomas Kuhn-like， sort of a dissection/history of scientists-and-science-as-social-practice。 - first 2/3 were great for me because Said is like all about Foucault， about Orientalism as a field of knowledge that 'creates' the Orient and the Oriental。 i'm of course， alw i mean i'm not an expert， right。 i very much feel a lot of my own blind spots wrt to literature+colonialhistory when reading this book， but it was a really fun read。 slapdash thoughtsOne thing I loved about this book is that it is， Thomas Kuhn-like， sort of a dissection/history of scientists-and-science-as-social-practice。 - first 2/3 were great for me because Said is like all about Foucault， about Orientalism as a field of knowledge that 'creates' the Orient and the Oriental。 i'm of course， always obsessed with this。 part 2 in particular， about the transformation of philology into a science， was a fun read。 the bit of how philology was twinned with the origin of language itself， of Indo-European being this 'root' language， such that Semitic languages somehow being mutant or deformed / primitive versions of language， or whatever is just this age-old application of Western science to be about "origins"， so that we can uphold contemporary political regimes。 it reminded me v much of Haraway's work on the politicization of animal behavior studies， because monkey and wolf behavior was supposed to point to how humans work too。 Science is very much about categorization and categorization is creation and Foucault is good etc。- Said would say over and over that one of the purposes of Orientalism is to become a totalizing vision of the East， smoothing out regional differences or even personal agency to define the characteristics and mindsets of an Oriental。 one of the techniques for this is tying Everything back to Islamic thought - all cultural habits， laws， attitudes end up being 'explained' as being about religion。 i liked this observation， it felt like a fairly obvious consequence of what Levins/Lewontin in 'The Dialectical Biologist' call cartesian reductionism， the Western rationalism that wants scientific explanation to be about a 'fundamental' cause to all effects， as 'root' of a cause as possible， and for a strict subject/object distinction， such that on Islam can effect its practitioners， and its practitioners are forever objects and cannot affect Islamic thought， which obviously doesn't make any sense。 this book was also very cool for me for its approach of analyzing written works， including travel fiction and adventure fiction; i was really able to read in， through Istvan Csicsery-Ronay's identification of adventure fiction as a key progenitor of science fiction in "Seven Beauties"， a lot of the relationship of orientalism and science fiction。 a lot of what Said says about how the Orient is viewed is very similar to Csicsery-Ronay explanation of "The Fertile Corpse" trope in the classic "Robinsonaide" -- an inert 'foreign land' that our hero can use science and technology to rejuvenate， exploit， or make comprehensible。- Said's identification of an attitude in orientalists that the orient cannot speak for itself， and must be championed and spoken for， exemplified in writing and in politics by Europeans being installed as advisors to Eastern political leaders and as "experts" on the east。 - he spends a bit on a particular French attitude of the Orient being unspoiled， underutilized land that France could save/use/make good （he identifies this with french anxiety with british empire esp）- the orient being a place for spiritual rejuvenation by romanticists， and also the biblical lands being this quasi-mythical 'origin' where europeans can find themselves。- Said goes out of his way to specify that the relationship between Europe and the East ends up being sexualized， and feminized， the East characterized by ""its silent indifference， its feminine penetrability， its supine malleability"" -- p much exactly what Csicsery-Ronay female corpse is described as as well。 Orientalist studies here being a 'tool text' for cracking open， exploiting， surviving， etc。 the Orient。 this completely inextricable tangling; science fiction's roots are colonialism + science and it's just v obvious and cool to see that through such a fundamental text of postcolonialism。 my skewed special interests aside， here's some dumb obvious shit that wasn't obvious to me and also openq uestions:- just the bare bones fact that Orientalism was a specific field of study brought about by French， English， and Germany proximity and colonial interests in North Africa， the Arabian Peninsula， etc。 ， and rooted in a specific Christian kingdom antipathy towards Islam and the Ottoman Empire。 I think maybe growing up in an Asian-American context i was always told by my community that Orientalism was about like geishas and dog-eating。 which Said does mention sinology and indology in this work， but the focus is v much on islamaphobia and 'near east' orientalism， the tracing of history is there。 honestly this makes me weirdly upset about the cultural signalling i've received; like how am i asian and was never told by my community about the 'origins' of the term orientalism？ smells fishy to me。 anyway。- the scope of this book is very specific; Said is clearly interested again in Islamophobia and Orientalism primarily。 it did feel weird to have a book about colonialism in the East doing close readings of writing and attitudes about Egypt， but not mention India at all？ another way to frame this q is: colonialism directly impacts places like india and vietnam， orientalism encapsulates weird attitudes towards japan and china， but Said's analysis is rooted in orientalism's history in islamophobia in addition to colonialism， so i'm curious about the formation and nature of orientalism in （1） non-islamic colonies （2） places that were not directly colonized but still had a huge place in the european imagination。 "techno orientalism" places japanese orientalism's origins in the Japanese victory in the russo-japanese war， for ex。 might need to re-read to get a fuller picture of how "OG" orientalism is related to the east asian orientalisms described in techno orientalism。 anyway yeah， fun time。 oh the back-third really dragged for me， i think there's only so much close reading of historical orientalists whose names i cannot internalize for the life of me that i can handle。 but making the connections to this seminal work and other shit i have read was really enriching 。 good！ 。。。more

Gareth Evans ，

Referenced by other books I have read recently， Orientalism seemed to be a good choice for me。 Unlike the histories aimed at the general reader that referenced it， I found Orientalism hard going。 This is a specialist work， aimed at a reader who is rather more au fait with the area than I am。 A lot of internet searching was required to gain context （and this included some of the vocabulary）。 Moreover， I found Said’s style difficult， especially his fondness for multiple adjectives and other descri Referenced by other books I have read recently， Orientalism seemed to be a good choice for me。 Unlike the histories aimed at the general reader that referenced it， I found Orientalism hard going。 This is a specialist work， aimed at a reader who is rather more au fait with the area than I am。 A lot of internet searching was required to gain context （and this included some of the vocabulary）。 Moreover， I found Said’s style difficult， especially his fondness for multiple adjectives and other descriptions。 Despite my difficulty - and I stress this difficulty is mine rather than the author’s - I found this work profoundly thought provoking and ultimately very satisfying。 。。。more

Allie Gustafson ，

A dense read that I put off for a long time， but something that was widely informative and put a lot of overlap of historical events into perspective。 As Western conceptions produced knowledge of assumptions， resulting in their audiences formulating a grander ignorant perspective of what is boiled down to happen within Eastern civilizations and empires。 Piecing the origins of this widespread belief， Said breaks down the origins of understanding and misunderstanding， pinning their pitfalls and sh A dense read that I put off for a long time， but something that was widely informative and put a lot of overlap of historical events into perspective。 As Western conceptions produced knowledge of assumptions， resulting in their audiences formulating a grander ignorant perspective of what is boiled down to happen within Eastern civilizations and empires。 Piecing the origins of this widespread belief， Said breaks down the origins of understanding and misunderstanding， pinning their pitfalls and short mindedness while creating more violence and harm。 As "the result [was] usually to polarize 。。。 the Oriental becomes more Oriental， the Westerner more Western。" （Ch1。Pt1） Even when mentioned in the slightest， the conception of what Palestine was and is in the West became synonymous with violence and disapproving moral attitudes， associated with the status of refugees， religious biases， and a political debate that every organization had an opinion on。 Their past， present， and future became overridden in the West with opinions and conceptions， sought after for its delights or riches， yet looked down upon with no actual salvation or solution for those of who call Palestine home， nor the consideration to even learn about their pilgrimage。 For Zionism and Orientialism to exist， the perception of taking over Palestine and displacing its people was always included in their definitions。 Memorable quotes:"Here， then， is another complex irony: how the classic victims of years of anti-Semitic persecution and the Holocaust have in their new nation become the victimizers of another people， who have become， therefore， the victim of the victims。 " （22）"In the U。S。， the Palestine question was always secondary to the massive American interests in the Arab states and， of course， to Israel; indeed， one could go as far as to say that Palestine was a domestic American issue， dominated since 1948， almost without demurral anywhere in society， by the Israeli lobby。" （24-25）"Where Israeli troops shot， beat， and harassed civilians， the Palestinians devised modes for getting around and crossing barriers; where the Israeli civil and military authorities forbade education or agriculture， the Palestinians improvised alternative organizations to do what was necessary; where the injunctions of a still largely patriarchal society held women in thrall， the intifada gave them new voices， authority， and power。" （30）"In what world is there no argument when an entire people is told that it is juridically absent， even as armies are led against it， campaigns conducted against even its name， history changed so as to “prove” its nonexistence？" （40）"From being a place “out there，” the Orient became a place of extraordinarily urgent， and precise detail， a place of numerous subdivisions。 One of these， the Middle East， survives today as a region of the Orient connoting infinite complexities， problems， conflicts。 At its center stands what I shall be calling the question of Palestine。。。。 The fact of the matter is that today Palestine does not exist， except as a memory or， more importantly， as an idea， a political and human experience， and an act of sustained popular will。" （44-45）"For Palestine has always played a special role in the imagination and in the political will of the West， which is where by common agreement modern Zionism also originated。 Palestine is a place of causes and pilgrimages。" （47） For many， "Zionism is to be a dramatic lesson for mankind。。。 The land itself is characterized in two separate ways。 On the one hand， it is associated with debauched and paupered conquerors， an arena lent by the Turk to fighting beasts， a part of the despotic East; on the other， with 'the brightness of Western freedom，' with nations like England and America， with the idea of neutrality （Belgium）。 In short， with a degraded and unworthy East and a noble， enlightened West。 The bridge between those warring representatives of East and West will be Zionism。"（99 -100）"Zionism suggests the extent to which， for the Palestinian， Zionism has appeared to be an uncompromisingly exclusionary， discriminatory， colonialist praxis。 So powerful， and so unhesitatinglyfollowed， has been the radical Zionist distinction between privileged Jews in Palestine and unprivileged non-Jews there， that nothing else has emerged， no perception of suffering human existence has escaped from the two camps created thereby。 As a result， it has been impossible for Jews to understand the human tragedy caused the Arab Palestinians by Zionism; and it has been impossible for Arab Palestinians to see in Zionism anything except an ideology and a practice keeping them， and Israeli Jews， imprisoned。" （104-105）"Imperialism was and still is a political philosophy whose aim and purpose for being is territorial expansion and its legitimization。 A serious underestimation of imperialism， however， would be to consider territory in too literal a way。" （108）"Among the supposed juridical distinctions between civilized and noncivilized peoples was an attitude toward land， almost a doxology about land， which noncivilized people supposedly lacked。 A civilized man， it was believed， could cultivate the land because it meant something to him; on it， accordingly， he bred useful arts and crafts， he created， he accomplished， he built。 For an uncivilized people， land was either farmed badly （i。e。， inefficiently by Western standards） or it was left to rot。 From this string of ideas， by which whole native societies who lived on American， African， and Asian territories for centuries were suddenly denied their right to live on that land， came the great dispossessing movements of modern European colonialism， and with them all the schemes for redeeming the land，resettling the natives， civilizing them， taming their savage customs， turning them into useful beings under European rule。" （110）On formulating community in exile all over the world， "On every side， subordination and suppression threaten the Palestinians， yet in the present unhappy circumstances there cannot be—except through rhetoric， acts of individual and mostly disconnected will or desperation， deliberate and ultimately risky full-face confrontation with one or another host country—a completely unified Palestinian self-assertion。。。 We clearly struggle for a better future but for the fact that the state preventing us from having a future of our own has already provided a future for its own unhappy people。 We are Arab， and yet not simply Arab。 We are exiles， and yet tolerated guests in some countries of our exile。 We can speak at the United Nations of our own problems， yet only as observers。" （153-155）I have been saying throughout that the Palestinian lives a curious destiny; at no time more than now has this been more painfully true。 Punished for his presence in Palestine at the time of the land’s colonial settlement by Zionism， he has been punished afterwards for his absence from Palestine。 As outcast， as transnational， extraterritorial being， as oppressed nonentity inside Israel， the Palestinian is confirmed as central to， or at the core of， the Middle East problem。 Even as he is denied the basicnational and legitimate recognition given internationally to any society， the Palestinian lives at a level of visible prominence， success， development， greater than at any time in his history。" （198）"Ideological labels with an immense miasmic power get substituted for concrete analysis， as much in the heat of Arab debate as in the supposedly cool atmosphere of U。S。 policy—or academic—analysis。" （212）"It is not too much to say that the rhetoric of Middle Eastern peace used today without dissent by the United States is coterminous with the desire to trim down， and perhaps even to make disappear， the question of Palestine。" （222）"Such demons serve a useful purpose。 How else is one to understand the total silence of the United States and of its liberal intelligentsia on the criminal enormity of Israel’s March 1978 raid into south Lebanon？ U。S。 allies were being allowed to launch massive “preventive” wars with U。S。 weapons like cluster bombs against civilians so that “radicalism” and “terrorism” could be shown to be punished。 Whereas when U。S。 allies like Israel sponsor naked genocidal wars （another example Indonesia’s sustained slaughter of civilians in East Timor）， nothing is said about it。" （242） 。。。more

Fever Fiori ，

3。2

Susanne ，

Very important aspects， but too academic for me

Amy ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Ok this took much longer than expected to finish （very much the opposite of a Quick Read）， but grateful for how it motivated me on days I felt unmotivated。 Themes include: be skeptical of essentialized categories， relations between knowledge and power， and unchanging abstractions misaligning with actual human experience。

Emmy ，

Undergrad 2019。 Pittsburgh

Colin ，

This is good stuff。 He's using a language that has has been massively overused recently， but he's done the homework and he's put the argument together well。 And he's talking about a clear， historical process， leading to current injustices not just engaging in a pissing match about who is most oppressed and traumatised by imaginary microaggressions or misgendering or whatever。 It's sort of weird hearing thos kind of analysis apllied to actual， real things for a change。 As a tool for unpicking the This is good stuff。 He's using a language that has has been massively overused recently， but he's done the homework and he's put the argument together well。 And he's talking about a clear， historical process， leading to current injustices not just engaging in a pissing match about who is most oppressed and traumatised by imaginary microaggressions or misgendering or whatever。 It's sort of weird hearing thos kind of analysis apllied to actual， real things for a change。 As a tool for unpicking the way the west has described the east， it's very powerful and you can really see why the book has the reputation it has。 。。。more

StephS:） ，

In Orientalism， Edward Said discusses how western colonial countries have exploited ‘eastern’ countries and created false stereotypes of people living in these regions。 Colonialist countries have exoticized colonized countries to justify imperialism and exploitation。 Said discusses how middle eastern cultures were characterized as ‘backwards’ and violent to justify western imperial interests。 People from the eastern mediterranean until the Pacific Ocean were labelled as ‘orientals’ by colonial E In Orientalism， Edward Said discusses how western colonial countries have exploited ‘eastern’ countries and created false stereotypes of people living in these regions。 Colonialist countries have exoticized colonized countries to justify imperialism and exploitation。 Said discusses how middle eastern cultures were characterized as ‘backwards’ and violent to justify western imperial interests。 People from the eastern mediterranean until the Pacific Ocean were labelled as ‘orientals’ by colonial European societies - lumping very different and diverse groups of people together。 The ‘East’ is characterised as being rich and full of treasures [*cough cough* to steal]。 Said also shows that the middle eastern terrorist trope and islamophobia also existed before 9/11。 He is not optimistic about the problem of orientalism。 Orientalism is ingrained in people’s minds and Said describes this as being inevitable and inter generational。 The views of the ‘Orient’ in the west were formed by 19th century European explorers who were mainly white and male。 They saw the locals of these regions as primitive， warlike and applied their theories of social Darwinism to these people。 These views stuck around， despite decolonization。 It is also mentioned that the Orient is often described as being feminine - here we see that the locals were seen as people to exploit - just like women。 It is to note though that women do make half the population in these regions。 Said borrows Marxist theory- namely from Gramsci but it doesn’t seem like he fully engages with the theory of cultural hegemony。 He accuses Karl Marx of being part of the orientalist crowd。 Is Karl Marx really an orientalist as Edward Said suggests？ Said thinks so - despite Marx ability to empathize with the working classes of non Western countries。 many of Marx ideas are more appealing and applicable to people in non western societies than western societies and Marxist philosophy （despite Marx personal bias） is inherently anti imperialist while orientalism is fueled by imperialism。 Edward Said also essentialises East and West- like there is a clear cut divide/dichotomy between these two。 He doesn’t analyze how the ‘East’ and ‘West’ are intertwined and how culture has been exchanged between different regions of the world。 He doesn’t try to break down and deconstruct these concepts。 。。。more

ela v ，

it is such a super dense book that im afraid i didnt continue reading it。 i do however get the gist of what edward said is coming across and i felt like my third eye was opened 🧘🏻‍♀️

Rezvan ，

این کتاب خیلی عمیقُ همه چی تمومه。 مثالهای خیلی عالی داره از رمانهای فرانسوی مخصوصا، که چطور ضمنی و زیرپوستی مسلمون‌ها رو هدف می‌گرفتن。 مثلا کتاب سالامبو از فلوبر。 باید بخونین کتابو تا خوب متوجه بشین و دچار اشتباه نشین。 و در مورد میسیونرهای فرانسوی （مثلا شاردن） که می‌آمدن ایران و ماموریت‌هاشون هم، توضیح مفصل می‌ده。 این کتابِ مفید و زیبا رو توی دانشگاه پاس کردیم، چند سال پیش。و از نظر آقای ادوارد سعید （که خودش فلسطینی تباره و دغدغه‌ی اصلی‌ش کشور خودش یعنی فلسطین بوده که این کتاب رو نوشته و البته کش این کتاب خیلی عمیقُ همه چی تمومه。 مثالهای خیلی عالی داره از رمانهای فرانسوی مخصوصا، که چطور ضمنی و زیرپوستی مسلمون‌ها رو هدف می‌گرفتن。 مثلا کتاب سالامبو از فلوبر。 باید بخونین کتابو تا خوب متوجه بشین و دچار اشتباه نشین。 و در مورد میسیونرهای فرانسوی （مثلا شاردن） که می‌آمدن ایران و ماموریت‌هاشون هم، توضیح مفصل می‌ده。 این کتابِ مفید و زیبا رو توی دانشگاه پاس کردیم، چند سال پیش。و از نظر آقای ادوارد سعید （که خودش فلسطینی تباره و دغدغه‌ی اصلی‌ش کشور خودش یعنی فلسطین بوده که این کتاب رو نوشته و البته کشورهای خاورمیانه） چکیده سیاست آمریکا و انگلیس در قبال کشورهای خاورمیانه‌ای مخصوصا ایران این شد که؛ （به زبان خیلی ساده） بریتانیای کبیر سیاستش این طور هست که شما رو تحقیر می‌کنه و در واقع توی سرتون میزنه، ادم‌حسابتون نمیکنه تا اینطوری به همه اعلام کنه که ما برتر هستیم و شماها کشورهای عقب‌مونده‌ وضعیفی هستین که هیچ وقت پیشرفت نخواهید کرد و ما از پس شما بر خواهیم‌آمد。。。 برعکس ایالت متحده سیاستش این طوره که شما رو تا حد زیادی بالا می‌بره، شما رو خیلیییی بزرگ جلوه می‌ده و این طوری میخواد به همه اعلام‌کنه که شما برای بقیه خطرآفرین هستین و ما （امریکا） باید به عنوان منجی دست شما رو کوتاه کنیم。。。 。。。more

winona ，

The way I can quote this fucking book - Edward you're my bestie！！！ Holding my dissertation together！！！ The way I can quote this fucking book - Edward you're my bestie！！！ Holding my dissertation together！！！ 。。。more

abhishek Chakraborty ，

Another post colonial cry baby 。 These academic books trying to define literature are nothing but fictions about fictions churned out in the academia by divinely untalented academics {who can't even write one single funny sentences ）。 Another post colonial cry baby 。 These academic books trying to define literature are nothing but fictions about fictions churned out in the academia by divinely untalented academics {who can't even write one single funny sentences ）。 。。。more

Anahi Corrales ，

This book is a work of art。 It not only introduced and situates the reader within the post-colonialism academia， but it studies and explains the reason behind the current affairs and happenings that concern the ‘Middle East’ and the ‘Arab World’。The book， being divided into three main sections， develops and examines the evolution of Orientalism until reaching the modern one。 Said’s analysis starts off by analyzing academics， authors， and other thinkings from mainly France and The United Kingdom， This book is a work of art。 It not only introduced and situates the reader within the post-colonialism academia， but it studies and explains the reason behind the current affairs and happenings that concern the ‘Middle East’ and the ‘Arab World’。The book， being divided into three main sections， develops and examines the evolution of Orientalism until reaching the modern one。 Said’s analysis starts off by analyzing academics， authors， and other thinkings from mainly France and The United Kingdom， the main colonizers and imperialists of the world， and concludes with the studying the country that currently holds hegemony - The United States of America - to illustrate how Orientalism served as a means to define the West and Western standards through the practice of Otherism。 This is a must read for anyone interested in post-colonialism and decolonization efforts。 。。。more

Louis ，

Yeah， brilliant

neha ，

so。。。。。。february was an intellectual reading month for sure lol （not rating bc i don't even know how） so。。。。。。february was an intellectual reading month for sure lol （not rating bc i don't even know how） 。。。more

Craine ，

An early masterpiece in anti colonial thinking an does a proper job of touching upon the often empty stereotypes infused from western culture upon middle eastern cultures。（Note I don't like the star rating and as such I only rate books based upon one star or five stars corresponding to the in my opinion preferable rating of thumbs up/down。 This later rating system encourages in my opinion the degree to which the reader is likely to read a review instead of merely glancing at the number of stars） An early masterpiece in anti colonial thinking an does a proper job of touching upon the often empty stereotypes infused from western culture upon middle eastern cultures。（Note I don't like the star rating and as such I only rate books based upon one star or five stars corresponding to the in my opinion preferable rating of thumbs up/down。 This later rating system encourages in my opinion the degree to which the reader is likely to read a review instead of merely glancing at the number of stars） 。。。more

KJK ，

this is definitely the hardest book ive ever had to read for school and i maybe understood like 20% of it。 v interesting tho！

Wesley ，

no more braincells left to write a review

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Orientalism

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Orientalism&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Orientalism&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0