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‘A stimulating, elegant yet pugnacious essay’—Observer In this highly acclaimed seminal work, Edward Said surveys the history and nature of Western attitudes towards the East, considering Orientalism as a powerful European ideological creation—a way for writers, philosophers and colonial administrators to deal with the ‘otherness’ of Eastern culture, customs and beliefs. He traces this view through the writings of Homer, Nerval and Flaubert, Disraeli and Kipling, whose imaginative depictions have greatly contributed to the West’s romantic and exotic picture of the Orient. In the Afterword, Said examines the effect of continuing Western imperialism.
At a crucial moment in the history of relations of East and West, Orient and Occident, Christianity and Islam, Orientalism provides a timely account of the subject and the debate. In the 1960s and 1970s a powerful assault was launched on 'orientalism', led by Edward Said. The debate ranged far beyond the traditional limits of 'dry-as-dust' orientalism, involving questions concerning the nature of identity, the nature of imperialism, Islamophobia, myth, Arabism, racialism, intercultural relations and feminism. Charting the history of the vigorous debate about the nature of orientalism, this timely account revisits the arguments and surveys the case studies inspired by that debate.
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 oriental...
The Orientalism debate, inspired by the work of Edward Said, has been a major source of cross-disciplinary controversy. This work offers a re-evaluation of this vast literature of Orientalism by a historian of imperalism, giving it a historical perspective
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.
Now reissued with a substantial new afterword, this highly acclaimed overview of Western attitudes towards the East has become one of the canonical texts of cultural studies. Very excitingâ¦his case is not merely persuasive, but conclusive. John Leonard in The New York Times His most important book, Orientalism established a new benchmark for discussion of the West's skewed view of the Arab and Islamic world.Simon Louvish in the New Statesman & Society âEdward Said speaks for interdisciplinarity as well as for monumental erudition¦The breadth of reading [is] astonishing. Fred Inglis in The Times Higher Education Supplement A stimulating, elegant yet pugnacious essay.Observer Exciting¦for anyone interested in the history and power of ideas.J.H. Plumb in The New York Times Book Review Beautifully patterned and passionately argued. Nicholas Richardson in the New Statesman & Society
Orientalism and Literature discusses a key critical concept in literary studies and how it assists our reading of literature. It reviews the concept's evolution: how it has been explored, imagined and narrated in literature. Part I considers Orientalism's origins and its geographical and multidisciplinary scope, then considers the major genres and trends Orientalism inspired in the literary-critical field such as the eighteenth-century Oriental tale, reading the Bible, and Victorian Oriental fiction. Part II recaptures specific aspects of Edward Said's Orientalism: the multidisciplinary contexts and scholarly discussions it has inspired (such as colonial discourse, race, resistance, feminism and travel writing). Part III deliberates upon recent and possible future applications of Orientalism, probing its currency and effectiveness in the twenty-first century, the role it has played and continues to play in the operation of power, and how in new forms, neo-Orientalism and Islamophobia, it feeds into various genres, from migrant writing to journalism.
Edges of Empire is a timely reassessment of the history and legacy of Orientalist art and visual culture through its focus on the intersection between modernization, modernism and Orientalism. Covers indigenous art and agency, contemporary practices of collection and display, and a survey of key Orientalist tropes Contains original essays on new perspectives for scholars and students of art history, architecture, museum studies and cultural and postcolonial studies Highlights contested identities and new definitions of self through topics such as 19th century monuments to Empire, cultural cross-dressing, performance and display at the international exhibitions, and contemporary museological practice.
Francis I's ties with the Ottoman Empire marked the birth of court-sponsored Orientalism in France. Under Louis XIV, French society was transformed by cross-cultural contacts with the Ottomans, India, Persia, China, Siam and the Americas. The consumption of silk, cotton cloth, spices, coffee, tea, china, gems, flowers and other luxury goods transformed daily life and gave rise to a new discourse about the 'Orient' which in turn shaped ideas about science, economy and politics, and against absolutist monarchy. An original account of the ancient regime, this book highlights France's use of the exotic and analyzes French discourse about Islam and the 'Orient'.
In contrast to most cultural histories of imperialism, which analyse Orientalist images of rather than by women, Gendering Orientalism focuses on the contributions of women themselves. Drawing on the little-known work of Henriette Browne, other `lost' women Orientlist artists and the literary works of George Eliot, Reina Lewis challenges masculinist assumptions relating to the stability and homogeneity of the Orientalist gaze. Gendering Orientalism argues that women did not have a straightforward access to an implicitly nale position of western superiority, Their relationship to the shifting terms of race, nation and gender produced positions from which women writers and artists could articu...