The idea of “the Orient” evolved from Western colonial powers. It is a politically dangerous and culturally biased idea. This concept continues to infect Western views of the Eastern world. This powerful argument is made by Edward Said in his influential text, Orientalism (1978).
The concept of Orientalism, he says, works in two important ways. It presents the East as a homogeneous region. The East is depicted as exotic, uncivilized, and backward. At the same time, it constructs the West’s idea of the East. This idea is a simplified, unchanging set of cultural representations.
Orientalism offers us a useful criticism of Optimist views of globalisation.
Napoleon’s Experts and the Birth of Modern Orientalism
Edward Said explains that the idea of modern Orientalism arose from a significant historical event. In 1798, a French army led by Napoleon briefly conquered Egypt in battle. This conquest was significant because Napoleon took with him not only soldiers, but also scientists, recorders, and interpreters. These experts were given the job of recording and categorizing what they saw. In doing so, they created a version of “the Orient” as objective knowledge. Their words gained unquestionable authority back home in Europe.
However, as Said suggests, they were looking at the East through the lens of the imperialists who sent them. The West saw itself as rational, civilized, and progressive. The reports sent back to Europe by Napoleon’s “experts” were meticulously crafted. This meant that the East was presented to Europeans in a highly packaged way. The West explained the East. In the process, it was moulded to suit the European mind. Literary figures such as Lord Byron appropriated and disseminated this idea of what “Orientals” were like. They romanticized the Orient but continued to emphasize its inalienable difference.
The problem continues, Said says, because the idea of the Orient has never been questioned. The Western view of the East in all its forms keeps arising. This includes food, fashion, and sets of images. The Orient is seen as a place of mythical exoticism. It is the home of Sphinx, Cleopatra, Eden, Troy, Sodom and Gomorrah, Sheba, Babylon, and Muhammad.
The ‘Othering’ of the East: Edward Said’s Critique of Orientalism and Globalisation
Orientalism is a framework used to understand the Orient, says Said. At the same time, it tells us that the peoples of the East are different. It portrays them as frightening. The world is viewed as a violent fanatic. Western nations feel the need to protect themselves from “the infiltration of the Other”. The challenge, he says, is to find a way of coexisting peacefully.
Orientalism Key Dates
- 1375 Chaucer refers to the Orient as the lands lying east of the Mediterranean.
Early 19th century French academic Silvestre de Sacy sets out the terms of modern Orientalism. - In 1836, Edward William Lane published Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians. This book became an important reference for writers. One of these writers was the French novelist Gustave Flaubert.
- 1961 Franz Fanon writes about the dehumanizing forces of colonialism in The Wretched of the Earth.
- 1981 Sadik Jalal al-‘Azm argues that Orientalism tends to categorize the West. This is similar to the way Said says it packages the East.
Edward Said: Brief biography
Cultural theorist and literary critic Edward Said was the founder of post-colonial studies. He was born in West Jerusalem during the British Mandate in Palestine. His father was a wealthy Palestinian-American of Christian faith. Said went to private international schools in Lebanon, Egypt, and the USA. He later studied at Princeton and Harvard. He then became a professor of English Literature at Columbia University. He taught there until his death in 2003. Said wrote prolifically on a wide range of topics, including music and Palestinian issues.
Said stated that he was politicized by the Six-Day War of 1967 between Israel and its Arab neighbours. After this event, he became an important voice for the Palestinian cause, especially in the USA. In 1999 he founded an Arab-Israeli orchestra with the conductor Daniel Barenboim, in the belief that music transcends politics.
Edward Said: Key works
- 1978 Orientalism
- 1979 The Question of Palestine
- 1993 Culture and Imperialism
For students of A-level sociology Orientalism is a useful theory to know for the Globalisation and Global Development module.
You can find out more by reading this article in The Conversation: Orientalism explained.