Orientalism

I just spent a few days reading a book about how the West textually created and defined the Orient during the last two centuries. Most of the book focused on texts from England and France. American writings came into view during the 20th century. Of all the classic texts on the Middle East reviewed and commented on in Orientalism, I have read none of them. Of all the quotes, excerpts, epigraphs and passing comments in untranslated French in this book (easily 15 pages of French, spread throughout the book), I understood none of them. With those two disclaimers, let me say that I am glad I read Orientalism, and that I look forward to, one day, reading more of Edward Said.

I barely understood the book, but I think that Said was saying that Orientalists created our understanding of the Orient by defining it without regard to the reality of the people, cultures, economies, religions, societies, needs, feelings, and/or thoughts of what we now call the Middle East; but that instead we (the West) defined it as part of a counter-definition of ourselves. Or, he’s saying that the Orientalist definition of the Orient serves the West and is not an accurate, rational description of Islam or the Middle East or Arabia or ……. Since I don’t fully understand this, I’m going to cop out and include some links to smarter reviews of Said’s work at this point. Here are some quotes from Orientalism which may get you thinking in the right direction. Here’s the Wikipedia summary of Orientalism. Here’s an article by Said about Orientalism 25 Years Later. And here’s an article written a year after Said’s death, about Said, Orientalism and Post-Colonial Literary Studies. I hope these will get you started on a better understanding of Said, or at least help you figure out if you want to deal with him or not.

Regardless of my limited personal understanding of what Said was talking about, I think I grokked enough of it to be wary as I continue my readings about the Middle East. More strongly than that, I now understand why a reader needs to be on the lookout for authors and texts which define the Orient from a degenerating, disrespectful, condescending, constraining, stereotyping and/or Occident-serving viewpoint. Sounds like that would be easy, but Said’s whole point was that we all bought in to Orientalism for the last few centuries, because it had/has authority.

On a lighter note, I want to comment on how happy I am to return this book to the library at FSI. I have been carrying this book around with me at work, to read on breaks between classes with my co-workers. Many of them have commented on the cover. If you did not look at the cover closely on the original product link above, please be sure to jump to this image from the cover of the book, a detail from Jean-Leon Gerome’s The Snake Charmer. Call me a prude and take me back to books with pictures of cavalry or tourists in front of the pyramids!