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ORIENTALISM
October 18, 2007
Somewhere or other, I
imprinted on the idea that
I needed to read Edward I was after a
Said's "Orientalism" (1979). history of the
development of There may be some of
My enthusiasm for this Western ideas what I was after in
waned rapidly once I of exoticism. here, but (a) as
had a copy of the book history, this work is
in my hands... apparently dubious,
(b) the good stuff is
In the introduction he buried under a
name drops Focault -- horribly pompous
which we have learned style, (c) it's pomo
in the intervening out the wazoo.
years, is not a good But then, maybe the
sign -- and worse, he last point implies
invokes Foucault to the other two.
bring in a piece of
jargon that doesn't
seem to add anything I'm skipping the later introduction
to the discussion: added in (2004), full of anti-Bush
Orientalism must be political ranting that I agree with:
understood as a (obviously then: "brilliantly
"discourse". insightful" or "stale cliche").
This apparently just Just at a guess: it's a cynical
means that Orientalism attempt at distracting his
doesn't exist in a critics by wrapping himself in
vacuum, instead it must a burning flag.
be understood in the
contexts of political
and social pressures.
True enough, and
yet, one feels
compelled to We might wonder
comment: "Duh!". what does exist And: is this
in a vacuum. material supposed
to be original?
He then goes off into Anthropology already
some rather pompous has a significant
assertions about how amount of internal
"The Orient" is not criticism about it's
something that *exists* roots in Colonialism...
but rather an idea --
though one should not And it already did back
presume that this is an in 1979, when this work
idea that does not appeared.
correspond to reality
in any respect. For that matter,
my Social Studies
All well and good, but you teacher in Junior
know, considering that this High School
is a human classification of cautioned us about
human cultures, we might the old stereotypes
indeed expect it to be of "oriental people".
a somewhat rough concept
which is nevertheless not And that was
entirely useless. in 1973 or so.
We might also make the point
that this is true of "humanism", And it is true that the limitations
or "the right wing", or many of these mental tools continually
other such classifications. threaten to undermine any attempt
at saying something intelligent in
these realms, and yet trying to
This book is evidently get by without them entirely seems
intended to be an impossible.
argument against
"Orientalism".
But what Said seems to
mean by this is a European
understanding of "The
Orient", which lumps the Reviewing other criticisms
Middle East in with Asia of Said's work, many people
(but not Southern Africa?). note he is unduly harsh on
the researchers studying
That particular classification "Orientalism", many of whom
is already a dead-letter on the were clearly sympathetic,
American scene, where the interested observers...
concepts we really use is more
like West and East, where the Even Richard Burton,
"Middle East" is in the middle. who one might argue But then
was compromised by if you
his role in "The actually
Great Game". read what
Said
In highly *says*
politicized about
territory like Burton,
this, a wedge is it's not
often driven all that
between reputation terrible.
and reality.
I need to step carefully
with Said here -- he's
Another common criticism regarded as a dubious
is that Said trivializes source, but some of the
the Arabian world's role reasons for that may be
in it's own fate, e.g. dubious.
underrating the role of the
Ottoman empire. He rubs me the wrong
with his style and his
In order to write philosophical approach,
a tale of the Orient and because of that I
victimized, it's need to read him really
important that they carefully if I'm going
be victims. to read him at all.
Damn all those Westerners
for promulgating images
of "simple peoples".
If I plunge ahead with
"Orientalism", it's
going to be in hopes
of learning something
from the review of Notably, all his
literature. name dropping
appears to be
of highbrow stuff,
e.g. Flaubert.
This makes
very little
sense to
me, except
as an attempt
at impressing
other members
of the literature
department.
What about the vast
body of adventure If you wanted to
fiction featuring know where the
nostalgia for "The Winston
Crusades"? Churchill's of
the world got
their view of
Arabia, I would
guess you'd need
to start with
G.A. Henty.
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