What exactly is Orientalism?
An orientalist was a term used in the nineteenth and twentieth century to describe a Western scholar who studied the Middle East. The terms “orientalist” and “orientalism” have come to have particularly negative connotations in recent years. So, what exactly is orientalism? What’s the big deal about it? And why do posters continually referring to you as an orientalist?
He contends that orientalism, as it existed at the time, was a weapon for colonialism. Saeed: Whether intentionally or unwittingly, the orientalist endeavour was frequently premised on the notion of European superiority. The Grand West sowed divisions that have proven to be extremely harmful and that continue to this day. We are simultaneously developing this concept of the superior west as part of the orientalist agenda of constructing the east as the other. The Orient is the passive other, the object that lacks self-determination and logic and must be taught or redeemed by the civilised.
This was the principal charge levelled against orientalists. Women were extensively sexualized and portrayed as promiscuous, in contrast to Western women’s modesty. This is extremely effectively reflected in some of the most classic translations of the Thousand and One Nights or Arabian Nights. A lot of the orientalist stuff has made its way into popular culture over there as well. When Edward Saeed’s Orientalism was published, it caused quite a stir.
Subsequent events indicated that the terms “orientalist” and “orientalism” have evolved to have extremely unfavourable meanings. Saeed was not criticising these professors’ integrity; rather, he was pointing out that orientalists regularly contributed to colonialism myths. When we denigrate western research on the basis of orientalism, we create an unhealthy climate of division rather than one of mutual discourse and cooperation. I see a lot of this kind of rhetoric in the commons and on sites like Twitter, where there is a general inclination to dismiss any western experts discussing the Middle East as orientalists with a terrible, evil intent to promote disinformation. However, adopting a critical stance toward orientalist academics does not imply that we dismiss all the Orientalists did.
“Orientalism and orientalist evolved to have a much more negative connotation, and instead came to be connected with really problematic tales,” says Edward Saeed. “This is why it’s so crucial for researchers now to keep these things in mind,” he adds. Relevant even now, I suppose the ultimate question is, “Am I an Orientalist?” I suppose it all depends on how you define the term “orientalism.”
