The Persistence Of Orientalism

A groundbreaking critique of the West's historical, cultural, and political perceptions of the East that is—three decades after its first publication—one of the most important books written about our divided world. "Intellectual history on a high order ... and very exciting." —The New York Times In this wide-ranging, intellectually vigorous study, Said traces the origins of "orientalism" to the centuries-long period during which Europe dominated the Middle and Near East and, from its position of power, defined "the orient" simply as "other than" the occident. This entrenched view continues to dominate western ideas and, because it does not allow the East to represent itself, prevents true understanding.

Why is the 1798 Napoleonic invasion of Egypt routinely accepted as a watershed moment between premodern and modern in general histories on the Middle East? Although decades of scholarship, most-notably Edward Said’s Orientalism, have critiqued traditional binaries of developed and undeveloped in Arab studies, the narrative of 1798 symbolizing the coming of the modern west to the rescue of the static east endures. Peter Gran’s The Persistence of Orientalism is the first book to take stock of this dominant paradigm, interrogating its origins and the ways in which scholarship is produced to perpetuate it. Gran surveys the history of American studies of Modern Egypt, examining three central issues: the periodization of modern professional knowledge in the US in the 1890s, the contemporary identity of orientalism and its critique, and the close connection between Oriental Despotism and the dominant formulation of American identity found in American Studies and in American life. Reinvigorating the conversation on the historiography of modern Egypt, this volume will influence a new generation of scholars studying the Middle East and beyond.

Why did orientalism emerge and how has it evolved? Has the theory of orientalism developed by Edward Said and others stood the test of time? What is the significance of postmodernism for the future of orientalism? Orientalism, the theory and practice of representing 'the Orient' in European thought, is a controversial and a problematic concept. This book provides a concise text on the evolution and development of the theory of orientalism, the practice of orientalism in history, and its persistence and reformulation in contemporary times. It places Edward Said's contribution in an appropriate historical context, examines the work of his critics, and explores the postmodern future of orientalism. Ziauddin Sardar provides a highly original historical perspective and shows how orientalism was reworked and reinvested during the Middle Ages, the Enlightenment, colonialism and under the impact of modernity. Through the examination of a wide range of cultural products - films, television, fiction, CD-roms - this clear and coherent overview suggests that, as a practice of representing the 'Other', orientalism has been substantially transformed: it has reformulated itself as a diverse and sophisticated tool of representation.

Orientalism, as explored by Edward Said in 1978, was a far more complex phenomenon than many suspected, being homogenous along the lines of neither culture nor time. Instead, it is deeply embedded in the collective reimaginings that were?and are?nationalism. The dozen essays in Genealogies of Orientalism argue that the critique of orientalism, far from being exhausted, must develop further. To do so, however, a historical turn must be made, and the ways in which modernity itself is theorized and historicized must be rethought. ø According to Joan W. Scott, author of The Politics of the Veil, the essays in this collection ?develop a remarkable perspective on Edward Said?s Orientalism, placing it in a long historical context of critiques of colonial representations, and deepening our understanding of the very meaning of modernity.? Looking beyond the usual geography of colonial theory, this work broadens the focus from the Middle East and India to other Asian societies. By exploring orientalism in literary and artistic representations of colonial subjects, the authors illuminate the multifaceted ways in which modern cultures have drawn on orientalist images and indigenous self-representations. It is in this complex, cross-cultural collision that the overlapping of orientalism and nationalism can be found.

During the decolonization period after World War II, Edward Said and other scholars identified and fought against Orientalism: the theory and practice of representing the East in Western thought. The 37 essays and excerpts reprinted here provide students and other readers with a cross-section of the debate that has followed. They are not indexed. c. Book News Inc.

Douglas Little explores the stormy American relationship with the Middle East from World War II through the war in Iraq, focusing particularly on the complex and often inconsistent attitudes and interests that helped put the United States on a collision course with radical Islam early in the new millennium. After documenting the persistence of "orientalist" stereotypes in American popular culture, Little examines oil, Israel, and other aspects of U.S. policy. He concludes that a peculiar blend of arrogance and ignorance has led American officials to overestimate their ability to shape events in the Middle East from 1945 through the present day, and that it has been a driving force behind the Iraq war. For this updated third edition, Little covers events through 2007, including a new chapter on the Bush Doctrine, demonstrating that in many important ways, George W. Bush's Middle Eastern policies mark a sharp break with the past.

Focusing on the field of study known as orientalism in the decades around 1900, this volume explores the history of the humanities through the prism of scholarly personae.

Orientalism is about much more than just information gathered about the East within its general postcolonial period. In this period, orientalism is a Western discourse that dominated and shaped the view of the East. There is “otherization” in the way the West has historically looked at the East and within the information presented about it. These original stories of travelers in the past and previous telling about the East are facing a reconstruction through modern types of media. Cinema, television, news, newspaper, magazine, internet, social media, photography, literature, and more are transforming the way the East is presented and viewed. Under the headings of post-orientalism, neo-orientalism, or self-orientalism, these new orientalist forms of work in combination with both new and traditional media are redefining orientalism in the media and beyond. The Handbook of Research on Contemporary Approaches to Orientalism in Media and Beyond shows how both new media and traditional media deal with orientalism today through the presentation of gender, race, religion, and culture that make up orientalist theory. The chapters focus on how orientalism is presented in the media, cinema, TV, photography, and more. This book is ideal for communications theorists, media analysts, practitioners, researchers, academicians, and students working in fields that include mass media, communications, film studies, ethnic studies, history, sociology, and cultural studies.

Revised version of papers presented at the International Conference: Rereading Orientalism, held at Kolkata in August 2004.

The Orientalism debate, inspired by the work of Edward Said, has been a major source of cross-disciplinary controversy in recent years. John Mackenzie offers a comprehensive re-evaluation of the vast literature on Orientalism, bringing to the subject some highly original historical perspectives. The book provides the first major discussion of Orientalism by a historian of imperialism. Setting the analysis within the context of conflicting scholarly interpretations, Mackenzie carries the discussion into wholly new areas, testing the notion that the Western arts received genuine inspiration from the East by examining the visual arts, architecture, design, music, and theater.