Edward Said's Orientalism

 

Edward Said's Orientalism

1. The Concept of "Orient" and "Other":

• The "Orient" refers to the Middle East, Asia, and other regions considered foreign or "different" by the West (Europe and America). According to Said, Western countries created the idea of the "Orient" to define themselves as more advanced and superior.
• The "Other" is a term used to describe how the West views the people and cultures of the Orient as alien or inferior. The Orient becomes a mirror for the West, reflecting what it sees as backward or exotic.

Example: Imagine two people comparing themselves. One says, "I'm modern and advanced because I'm not like that person who's old-fashioned." In this case, the West sees itself as modern by comparing itself to the "Other," the Orient, which it views as less developed.

2. The Binary of "Us" vs. "Them":

• Said explains that the idea of "Orient" and "Occident" (West) is not just a neutral comparison. The West created this binary to position itself as superior. The West always views itself as knowledgeable, powerful, and rational, while the Orient is seen as passive, irrational, and mystical.

Example: In a classroom, if one group of students is always portrayed as smarter and more capable, while another group is constantly described as needing help, a power imbalance forms, reinforcing the superiority of one over the other. This is how the West saw itself in comparison to the Orient.

3. Orientalism as a System of Knowledge and Power:

• Orientalism is not just about studying the East; it’s a system through which the West controls and dominates the Orient. Europeans built their understanding of the Orient based on their political and economic interests during the era of imperialism (1800s-1900s). They treated the Orient as an object to be studied and controlled, rather than as people with their own voices.

Example: A museum displaying artifacts from a foreign culture may present the objects without explaining their real significance to the people from that culture. This way, the museum "controls" the story of the objects, and people in the culture lose their voice.

4. Knowledge and Power:

• According to Said, knowledge about the Orient, generated by the West, was tied to power. The more the West knew about the Orient, the easier it became to control it. This knowledge also helped justify imperialism, where Western countries colonized Eastern nations.

Example: A school principal who knows everything about the students can easily control them. The more they know, the more they can manipulate situations to maintain authority. Similarly, European powers gathered knowledge about Eastern cultures to dominate them.

5. Flexible Positional Superiority:

• Said uses this term to explain how the West always manages to stay in a superior position, no matter the situation. The West adapts its position in ways that maintain its dominance over the Orient, in cultural, political, and economic terms.

Example: In a competition, if the rules are always adjusted to favor one team, that team will always win. The West, through its strategies, always positions itself as superior to the Orient, despite different circumstances.

6. Kissinger's and Glidden’s Examples:

• Said points out modern examples of Orientalism, like Henry Kissinger (a U.S. politician) and Harold Glidden (a writer), who show how the West still separates itself from the East. Kissinger, in his writings, divides the world into developed (West) and developing countries (East), reflecting the same old distinction of superiority. Glidden, in his work, describes Arabs in psychological terms that make them seem abnormal compared to Westerners.

Example: A restaurant owner may describe the behavior of customers from another country as "strange," even though it’s normal in their culture. This shows how the West views the East as different or inferior without fully understanding it.