Orientalism

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A term coined by Edward Said to describe the Western assumptions and stereotypes about the Middle East and Asia.

Colonization: The process of acquiring and maintaining control over a geo-political territory and its people by an external power through coercion, conquest, and settlement.
Imperialism: The ideology of expanding and maintaining control over a geo-political territory and its people, often through economic, military, and cultural domination.
Orientalism: A set of discourses and representations constructed by the Western world about the Oriental "Other," which reinforce cultural stereotypes, prejudices, and fantasies about the East.
Binary oppositions: Dualistic categories created by Westerners to construct the East and the West as binary opposites, such as civilized vs. barbaric, rational vs. irrational, modern vs. primitive, etc.
Othering: The process of constructing a group of people or culture as inherently different and inferior based on the supposed characteristics and practices.
Cultural hegemony: The domination of one culture over another through economic, political, and social practices, which ultimately results in the internalization of the dominant culture's values, norms, and beliefs by the dominated culture.
Hybridity: The mingling, mixing, and merging of different cultures, practices, and identities that produces new and complex cultural formations.
Occidentalism: The set of discourses and representations constructed by the Eastern world about the Western "Other," which reinforce cultural stereotypes, prejudices, and fantasies about the West.
Postcolonialism: The intellectual and political movement that emerged in the late 20th century in response to the legacies of colonialism and imperialism, which focused on challenging colonial discourses, reclaiming cultural and political agency, and creating alternative visions of the world.
Nationalism: The ideology of identifying and promoting the interests, values, and culture of one's own country, often at the expense of others, which emerged as a response to colonialism and imperialism.
Diaspora: The dispersal, migration, and movement of a group of people from their homeland to different parts of the world, which often results in the formation of transnational, hybrid, and alternative identities and cultures.
Postmodernism: The philosophical and literary movement that emerged in the late 20th century that challenged the modernist ideas of rationality, progress, and truth and emphasized the fragmentation, heterogeneity, and ambiguity of reality, which has influenced postcolonial literature.
Intersectionality: The social and political theory that explains how multiple systems of oppression, such as race, gender, class, sexuality, and religion, interact and intersect to create unique experiences of privilege and disadvantage for different groups of people.
Resistance and subversion: The strategies, tactics, and practices that individuals and groups use to resist, challenge, or subvert the dominant discourses and practices, which often involves reclaiming cultural identities, histories, and values, and empowering marginalized voices and perspectives.
Epistemological Orientalism: It involves the mapping of different constructs of knowledge from the Orient into the Western framework.
Academic Orientalism: This type represents the study of the culture and history of the Orient based on academic and theoretical frameworks.
Social Orientalism: It focuses on the analysis of the social and cultural norms that exist in Oriental societies.
Tourist Orientalism: It represents the exoticization and commodification of Oriental culture, which promotes tourism.
Nationalist Orientalism: This type represents the use of Orientalism as a tool to legitimize national identity, history, and culture.
Feminist Orientalism: This type represents the analysis of the intersectionality of gender and Orientalism.
Political Orientalism: It refers to the political discourse that uses Orientalism as a tool to justify political policies.
Religious Orientalism: This type represents the study of the religious beliefs and practices of oriental societies.
Applied Orientalism: This type represents the practical use of oriental knowledge to solve contemporary issues.
Postcolonial Orientalism: It involves the critical analysis of the hegemonic discourse that Western powers maintain over the oriental world.
"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."
"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."