Edward Said – Orientalism
Orientalism
Said is most known for his book Orientalism.
Orientalism is a racist perspective, attitude, or set of assumptions used by Europeans to understand “the
Orient” in the late 19
th
century.
Said’s ambition is to make sense of the “orientalism” phenomena (if indeed it is a thing).
How does it work?
3 Principle of Orientalism
1)
The first basic principle of Orientalism is that there are at least two groups or qualifiedly different
peoples: westerners and Orientals – an “us” and “them.”
There is on one universal “humanity” per se, but a judgment between kinds of
people.
Additionally, one group is superior to the other, specifically to Orientals.
Whereas Westerners are seen as possessing higher order thinking abilities (reason), and as
belonging to modern enlightened culture, Orientals are seen as being subjected (as object) to
that reason.
2)
The second basic principle is that
Westerners dominate, while Orientals are dominated
.
