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Orientalism Orientalism  is  a  term  that  is  used  by  art  historians,  literary  and  cultural  studies  scholars  for  the  imitation  or  depiction  of  aspects  in  Middle  Eastern,  South  Asian,  African  and  East  Asian  cultures  (Eastern  cultures).  These  depictions  are  usually  done  by  writers,  designers  and  artists  from  the  West.  In  particular,  Orientalist  painting,  depicting  more  specifically  "the  Middle  East",  was  one  of  the  many  specialisms  of  19th-­‐century  Academic  art,  and  the  literature  of  Western  countries  took  a  similar  interest  in  Oriental  themes.  

 Since  the  publication  of  Edward  Said's  Orientalism  in  1978,  however,  much  academic  discourse  has  used  the  term  "Orientalism"  in  reference  to  a  patronizing  Western  attitude  towards  Middle  Eastern,  Asian  and  North  African  societies.  In  Said's  analysis,  the  West  essentializes  these  societies  as  static  and  undeveloped—thereby  fabricating  a  view  of  Oriental  culture  that  can  be  studied,  depicted,  and  reproduced.  Implicit  in  this  fabrication,  writes  Said,  is  the  idea  that  Western  society  is  developed,  rational,  flexible,  and  superior.    

1. What  did  the  term  Orientalism  traditionally  mean,  and  how  has  it’s  meaning  changed  since  the  publication  of  Said’s  book?  

     

2. What  does  Said  mean  by  “essentializing”  societies?          “The  Orient  is  watched,  since  its  almost  (but  never  quite)  offensive  behavior  issues  out  of  a  reservoir  of  infinite  peculiarity;  the  European,  whose  sensibility  tours  the  Orient,  is  a  watcher,  never  involved,  always  detached,  always  ready  for  new  examples  of  what  the  Description  de  l'Egypte  called  "bizarre  jouissance."  The  Orient  becomes  a  living  tableau  of  queerness.”    ―  Edward  W.  Said,  Orientalism    “Arabs,  for  example,  are  thought  of  as  camel-­‐riding,  terroristic,  hook-­‐nosed,  venal  lechers  whose  undeserved  wealth  is  an  affront  to  real  civilization.  Always  there  lurks  the  assumption  that  although  the  Western  consumer  belongs  to  a  numerical  minority,  he  is  entitled  either  to  own  or  to  expend  (or  both)  the  majority  of  the  world  resources.  Why?  Because  he,  unlike  the  Oriental,  is  a  true  human  being.  No  

better  instance  exists  today  of  what  Anwar  Abdel  Malek  calls  “the  hegemonism  of  possessing  minorities”  and  anthropocentrism  allied  with  Europocentrism:  a  white  middle-­‐class  Westerner  believes  it  his  human  prerogative  not  only  to  manage  the  nonwhite  world  but  also  to  own  it,  just  because  by  definition  “it”  is  not  quite  as  human  as  “we”  are.  There  is  no  purer  example  than  this  of  dehumanized  thought.”  ”    ―  Edward  W.  Said,  Orientalism    

3. How  do  these  this  description  of  Orientalist  thinking  connect  to  the  ideas  of  Cecil  Rhodes  and  the  practice  of  Colonial  Exhibition?  Be  very  specific  

               “To  say  simply  that  Orientalism  was  a  rationalization  of  colonial  rule  is  to  ignore  the  extent  to  which  colonial  rule  was  justified  in  advance  by  Orientalism,  rather  than  after  the  fact.”    ―  Edward  W.  Said,  Orientalism    

4. How  did  Orientalist  thinking  make  it  possible  to  justify  colonization  and  imperialism?              “Every  single  empire  in  its  official  discourse  has  said  that  it  is  not  like  all  the  others,  that  its  circumstances  are  special,  that  it  has  a  mission  to  enlighten,  civilize,  bring  order  and  democracy,  and  that  it  uses  force  only  as  a  last  resort.  And,  sadder  still,  there  always  is  a  chorus  of  willing  intellectuals  to  say  calming  words  about  benign  or  altruistic  empires,  as  if  one  shouldn't  trust  the  evidence  of  one's  eyes  watching  the  destruction  and  the  misery  and  death  brought  by  the  latest  mission  civilizatrice.”    ―  Edward  W.  Said,  Orientalism    

5. Do  you  think  that  British  citizens  felt  that  the  imperialism  engaged  in  by  their  country  was  justified,  even  beneficial,  or  do  you  think  these  arguments  were  only  used  as  a  thin  excuse?  

             

6. Do  you  think  any  countries  today  are  guilty  of  similar  justifications  for  Imperialism?