"In art history, literature and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects of the Eastern world by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world."
A way of thinking about non-Western cultures that portrays them as exotic, inferior, and in need of Western intervention and control.
Colonialism: The historical context in which Orientalism emerged as a discourse and practice rooted in imperialism and the domination of colonized peoples.
Orientalism and Power: The ways in which Orientalism has been used to justify and maintain colonial power structures and political domination, as well as the ways in which it has been resisted and subverted.
Representation: The role of media, literature, and other forms of cultural representation in shaping Orientalist narratives and stereotypes about the East.
Gender and Orientalism: The gendered dimensions of Orientalism, including the ways in which it reinforces patriarchal power structures and constructs Oriental women as exoticized and submissive figures.
Race and Orientalism: The racialization of Orientalism, including the ways in which it constructs non-white bodies as "other" and legitimizes white dominance and superiority.
Hybridity and Cultural Exchange: The potential for cultural exchange and hybridization between East and West, as well as the dangers of appropriation and cultural imperialism.
Postcolonial theory: The theoretical frameworks used to critique and analyze Orientalism, including postcolonial theory, critical race theory, and decolonial theory.
Globalization and Orientalism: The role of Orientalism in shaping contemporary global power relations, including the ways in which it is deployed in popular culture, politics, and international relations.
Orientalism in the Arts: The ways in which Orientalist themes and motifs have been incorporated into Western art and architecture, as well as the ways in which East Asian art has been appropriated and commodified in the West.
Ethnography and Orientalism: The challenges and opportunities of conducting ethnographic research in Orientalist contexts, including the need for reflexivity and critical engagement with power structures.
Colonial Orientalism: This refers to the study, portrayal, and representation of the East by the colonial powers during their colonial rule. It was a means of justifying colonialism and maintaining imperial control over the natives.
Academic Orientalism: This type of Orientalism involves the scholarly study of the Middle East, South Asia, and East Asia, largely through the lens of Western scholarship. It tends to focus on the cultural, historical, and religious aspects of these regions through Western perspectives.
Occidentalism: This is the opposite of Orientalism, it involves the study or portrayal of the West from non-Western perspectives.
Neo-Orientalism: It refers to contemporary forms of Orientalism that persist after the formal end of colonialism, such as the persistent stereotypes and assumptions about the Middle East and South Asia in Western media.
Cultural Orientalism: It focuses on the study of the culture and customs of the Eastern societies, often through a romanticized and exoticized lens.
Feminist Orientalism: This approach critically examines how Orientalism perpetuates gender stereotypes and oppression of women in the East and the West.
Techno-Orientalism: It refers to the discourse that connects technology and the East, perpetuating the image that technology is derived from the East, notably Japan and China.
"Orientalist painting, particularly of the Middle East, was one of the many specialties of 19th-century academic art."
"Since the publication of Edward Said's Orientalism in 1978, much academic discourse has begun to use the term 'Orientalism' to refer to a general patronizing Western attitude towards Middle Eastern, Asian, and North African societies."
"In Said's analysis, the West essentializes these societies as static and undeveloped—thereby fabricating a view of Oriental culture that can be studied, depicted, and reproduced in the service of imperial power."
"Implicit in this fabrication, writes Said, is the idea that Western society is developed, rational, flexible, and superior."
"This allows Western imagination to see 'Eastern' cultures and people as both alluring and a threat to Western civilization."
"In art history, literature and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects of the Eastern world by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world."
"Orientalist painting, particularly of the Middle East, was one of the many specialties of 19th-century academic art."
"Since the publication of Edward Said's Orientalism in 1978, much academic discourse has begun to use the term 'Orientalism' to refer to a general patronizing Western attitude towards Middle Eastern, Asian, and North African societies."
"Much academic discourse has begun to use the term 'Orientalism' to refer to a general patronizing Western attitude towards Middle Eastern, Asian, and North African societies."
"In Said's analysis, the West essentializes these societies as static and undeveloped—thereby fabricating a view of Oriental culture that can be studied, depicted, and reproduced in the service of imperial power."
"Implicit in this fabrication, writes Said, is the idea that Western society is developed, rational, flexible, and superior."
"This allows Western imagination to see 'Eastern' cultures and people as both alluring and a threat to Western civilization."
"Orientalist painting, particularly of the Middle East, was one of the many specialties of 19th-century academic art."
"Since the publication of Edward Said's Orientalism in 1978, much academic discourse has begun to use the term 'Orientalism' to refer to a general patronizing Western attitude towards Middle Eastern, Asian, and North African societies."
"In Said's analysis, the West essentializes these societies as static and undeveloped—thereby fabricating a view of Oriental culture that can be studied, depicted, and reproduced in the service of imperial power."
"Implicit in this fabrication, writes Said, is the idea that Western society is developed, rational, flexible, and superior."
"This allows Western imagination to see 'Eastern' cultures and people as both alluring and a threat to Western civilization."
"In art history, literature and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects of the Eastern world by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world."
"Orientalist painting, particularly of the Middle East, was one of the many specialties of 19th-century academic art."