Orientalism 39301 226177972 2008-07-17T04:46:44Z SJL 1262413 Quick-adding category "Concepts (nationalism studies)" (using [[WP:HOTCAT|HotCat]]) {{two other uses||the book by Edward Said|Orientalism (book)|Orientalist Architecture|Moorish Revival}} [[Image:Anonymous Venetian orientalist painting, The Reception of the Ambassadors in Damascus', 1511, the Louvre.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Anonymous Venetian [[Orientalism|orientalist]] painting, ‘The Reception of the Ambassadors in Damascus', 1511, the [[Louvre]]]] [[Image:WomenofAlgiers.JPG|thumb|right|300px|[[Eugène Delacroix]], ''The Women of Algiers,'' 1834, the [[Louvre]], [[Paris]] ]] '''Orientalism''' refers to the imitation or depiction of aspects of [[Eastern culture]]s in the West by writers, designers and artists, and can also refer to a sympathetic stance towards the region by a writer or other person. An "Orientalist" may be a person engaged in these activities, but is also the traditional term for any scholar of [[Oriental studies]].<ref>The use in English of "Orientalism" as a synonym for academic "Oriental studies" is rare; the [[Oxford English Dictionary]] cites only one such usage, by [[Lord Byron]] in 1812.</ref> These meanings were given a new twist by [[Edward Said]] in his controversial 1978 book ''[[Orientalism (book)|Orientalism]]'', where he uses the term to describe a tradition, both academic and artistic, of hostile and deprecatory views of the East by the West, shaped by the attitudes of the era of European [[imperialism]] in the [[18th century|18th]] and [[19th century|19th centuries]]. When used in this sense, it often implies essentializing and prejudiced outsider interpretations of Eastern cultures and peoples. Said was critical of this scholarly tradition and also of a few modern scholars, including [[Princeton University]] professor [[Bernard Lewis]]. In contrast, the term has also been used by some modern scholars to refer to writers of the Imperialist era who had pro-Eastern attitudes, as opposed to those who saw nothing of value in non-Western cultures.<ref>For example Thomas R. Trautmann in ''Aryans and British India'', 1997, ISBN 0-520-20546-4</ref> ==Meaning of the term== Like the term ''[[Orient]]'', ''Orientalism'' derives from the Latin word ''oriens'' (rising) and, equally likely, from the Greek word ('he'oros', the direction of the rising sun). "Orient" is the opposite of ''[[Occident]]''. In terms of The [[Old World]], [[Europe]] was considered The [[Occident]] (The West), and its farthest-known extreme [[The Orient]] (The East). Dating from the Roman Empire until the Middle Ages, what is now, in the West, considered 'the [[Middle East]]' was then considered 'the Orient'. In that time, the flourishing cultures of the [[Far East]] were unknown, likewise Europe was unknown in the Far East. In time, the common understanding of 'the Orient' has continually shifted eastwards, as Western explorers traveled farther in to Asia. In Biblical times, the [[Biblical Magi|Three Wise Men]] 'from the Orient' were actually [[Magi]] from "The East", (relative to Judea), probably meaning the [[Persian Empire]] or [[Arabia]]. After a period, as Europe learned of countries farther East, the defined limit of 'the Orient' shifted eastwards, until it reached the Pacific Ocean, in what Westerners came to call 'the [[Far East]]'. In the West, these shifts in time confuse the scope (historical and geographic) of Oriental Studies. Yet, there remain contexts where 'the Orient' and 'Oriental' denote older definitions, e.g. 'Oriental spices' typically are from the Earth's regions extending from the Middle East to sub-continental India to Indo-China. Moreover, travel on the [[Orient Express]] train ([[Paris]]–[[Istanbul]]), is eastward (to the sun), but does not reach what is currently understood to be ''the Orient''. In contemporary English, ''Oriental'' is usually synonymous for the peoples, cultures, and goods from the parts of [[East Asia]] traditionally occupied by [[East Asian]]s and some [[Southeast Asians]] racially categorised as "[[Mongoloid]]". This excludes [[India]]ns, Arabs, most [[Southeast Asians]] and the other West Asian peoples. In some parts of the United States, the term is considered derogatory; for example, Washington state prohibits use of the word "Oriental" in legislation and government documentation, preferring the word "Asian" instead.<ref>[http://www.leg.wa.gov/pub/billinfo/2001-02/Pdf/Bills/Senate%20Passed%20Legislature/5954.PL.pdf Senate bill (pdf file)]</ref> ==The arts== ===Imitations of Oriental styles=== [[Image:Vorontsov South View.JPG|thumb|left|275px|[[Edward Blore]]'s [[Alupka Palace]] (1828–46) was an early architectural intimation of the Victorian taste for [[Moorish Revival]] architecture.]] Orientalism has also come to mean the adoption of typical eastern motifs, styles and subject matter in art, architecture, and design. [[Turquerie]] was the oldest such fashion, which began as early as the late 15th century, and continued until at least the 18th. Early use in architecture of motifs lifted from the Indian subcontinent have sometimes been called "[[Hindoo style]]." One of the earliest examples can be seen in the façade of [[Guildhall, London]] (1788–1789) and the style gained momentum in the west with the publication of the various views of India by [[William Hodges]] and [[William Daniell|the]] [[Thomas Daniell|Daniells]] from about 1795. One of the finest examples of "Hindoo" architecture is [[Sezincote House]] (c. 1805) in [[Gloucestershire]]. Other notable buildings using the Hindoo style of Orientalism are [[Casa Loma]] in [[Toronto]], [[Sanssouci]] in [[Potsdam]], and [[Wilhelma]] in [[Stuttgart]]. [[Image:Chinesischer Turm.jpg|250px|thumb|Chinesischer Turm (Chinese Tower) in the [[Englischer Garten (Munich)|Englischer Garten]], [[Munich]], Germany. The initial structure was built 1789–1790.]] ''[[Chinoiserie]]'' is the catch-all term for the fashion for Chinese themes in decoration in Western Europe, beginning in the late 17th century and peaking in waves, especially [[Rococo]] Chinoiserie, ''ca'' 1740–1770. From the [[Renaissance]] to the 18th century Western designers attempted to imitate the technical sophistication of Chinese ceramics with only partial success. Early hints of Chinoiserie appear, in the 17th century, in the nations with active East India companies: England (the [[British East India Company]]), Denmark (the [[Danish East India Company]]), Holland (the [[Dutch East India Company]]) and France (the [[French East India Company]]). Tin-glazed pottery made at [[Delft]] and other Dutch towns adopted genuine [[blue-and-white]] [[Ming Dynasty|Ming]] decoration from the early 17th century, and early ceramic wares at [[Meißen|Meissen]] and other centers of true [[porcelain]] imitated Chinese shapes for dishes, vases and [[teaware]]s (see [[Chinese export porcelain]]). Pleasure pavilions in "Chinese taste" appeared in the formal parterres of late Baroque and Rococo German palaces, and in tile panels at [[Aranjuez]] near [[Madrid]]. [[Thomas Chippendale]]'s mahogany tea tables and china cabinets, especially, were embellished with fretwork glazing and railings, ''ca'' 1753–70, but sober ''homages'' to early Xing scholars' furnishings were also naturalized, as the ''tang'' evolved into a mid-Georgian side table and squared slat-back armchairs suited English gentlemen as well as Chinese scholars. Not every adaptation of Chinese design principles falls within mainstream "chinoiserie." Chinoiserie media included imitations of lacquer and painted tin (tôle) ware that imitated japanning, early painted wallpapers in sheets, and ceramic figurines and table ornaments. Small [[pagoda]]s appeared on chimneypieces and full-sized ones in gardens. [[Kew]] has a magnificent garden pagoda designed by Sir [[William Chambers (architect)|William Chambers]]. After 1860, ''[[Japonisme]],'' sparked by the arrival of [[Ukiyo-e|Japanese woodblock prints]], became an important influence in the western arts in particular on many modern French artists such as [[Monet]]. The paintings of [[James McNeill Whistler]] and his "[[Peacock Room]]" are some of the finest works of the genre; other examples include the [[Gamble House]] and other buildings by California architects [[Greene and Greene]]. ===Depictions of the Orient in art and literature=== {{main|Stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims|Stereotypes of Asians}} [[Image:IngresBainTurc.jpg|thumb|right|250px|''"Le Bain turc,"'' (Turkish Bath) by [[Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres|J.A.D. Ingres]], 1862]] Depictions of Islamic "[[Moors]]" and "Turks" (imprecisely named Muslim groups of North Africa and West Asia) can be found in Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque art. The first stirrings of Orientalism in Western art are found in Biblical scenes in [[Early Netherlandish painting]], where secondary figures, especially Roman and Jewish ones, are given exotic costumes that distantly reflect the [[turban]]s and other clothes of the contemporary [[Near East]]. The [[Biblical Magi|Three Magi]] in [[Nativity of Jesus in art|Nativity scenes]] were an especial focus for this. Renaissance [[Venice]] had a phase of particular interest in depictions of the [[Ottoman Empire]] in painting; [[Gentile Bellini]], who travelled to [[Constantinople]] and painted the Sultan, and [[Vittore Carpaccio]] were the leading exponents. By then the depictions were rather more accurate, with men typically dressed all in white. In the nineteenth century the numbers of Oriental scenes greatly increased. In many of these works the myth of the Orient as exotic and decadently corrupt is most fully articulated. Such works typically concentrated on Near-Eastern Islamic cultures. Artists such as [[Eugène Delacroix]], [[Jean-Léon Gérôme]] and [[Alexander Roubtzoff]] painted many depictions of Islamic culture, often including lounging [[odalisque]]s, and stressing lassitude and visual spectacle. When [[Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres]], director of the French ''Académie de peinture'' painted a highly-colored vision of a [[turkish bath]] (''illustration, right''), he made his eroticized Orient publicly acceptable by his diffuse generalizing of the female forms, who might all have been of the same model. If his painting had simply been retitled "In a Paris Brothel," it would have been far less acceptable.{{Fact|date=September 2007}} Sensuality was seen as acceptable in the exotic Orient. This orientalizing imagery persisted in art into the early 20th century, as evidenced in [[Matisse]]'s orientalist nudes. In these works the "Orient" often functions as a mirror to Western culture itself, or as a way of expressing its hidden or illicit aspects. In [[Gustave Flaubert]]'s novel ''[[Salammbô (novel)|Salammbô]]'' ancient [[Carthage]] in North Africa is used as a [[foil (literature)|foil]] to ancient [[Rome]]. Its culture is portrayed as morally corrupting and suffused with dangerously alluring eroticism. This novel proved hugely influential on later portrayals of ancient [[Semitic]] cultures. The use of the orient as an exotic backdrop continued in the movies for instance in many movies with [[Rudolph Valentino]]. Later the rich Arab in robes became a more popular theme, especially during the oil crisis of the 1970s. In the 1990s the Arab terrorist became a common villain figure in Western movies. ===Examples=== [[Image:Cover of Le Japon Artistique no 1 may 1888.jpg|thumb|200px|Cover of the French magazine ''le Japon artistique'' (May 1888) showing one of [[Hokusai]]'s views on [[Mount Fuji]]. ]] ====Literature==== * [[Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu|Montesquieu]] — ''[[Persian Letters]]'' (''Lettres persanes'') (1721) * [[William Thomas Beckford]] — ''[[Vathek]]'' (1786) * [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge]] — ''[[Kubla Khan]]'' (published 1816) * [[Percy Bysshe Shelley]] — ''[[Ozymandias]]'' (1818) * [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]] — poem ''Indian Superstition'' (1821) * [[Thomas de Quincey]] — [[Malay language|Malay]] passages in ''[[Confessions of an English Opium-Eater]]'' (1822) * [[Edgar Allan Poe]] — ''Tamerlane'' (1827), ''[[Al Aaraaf]]'' (1829), and ''Israfel'' (1831) * [[Victor Hugo]] - ''[[Les Orientales]]'' (1829) * [[Eça de Queiroz]] — ''[[A Reliquia|The Relic]]'' (''A Relíquia'') (1887) and ''The Mandarin'' (''O Mandarim'') (1889) * [[Anatole France]] ''Thaïs'' (1890) * [[Richard Francis Burton]] — translation of ''[[The Book of One Thousand and One Nights]]'' (1885–1888) * [[Victor Segalen]] — ''[[René Leys]]'' (1922) * [[André Malraux]] — ''[[Man's Fate]]'' (1934) (''La Condition humaine'', 1933) * [[Marguerite Yourcenar]]'s ''Nouvelles Orientales'' (1938) * [[Marguerite Duras]] — ''[[The Lover]]'' (''L'Amant'') (1984) * [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]] — ''[[Westöstlicher Diwan]]'' (1819) ====Opera, ballets, musicals==== [[Image:The Mikado.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Theatre poster for [[The Mikado]]]] * [[Jean-Philippe Rameau]] — ''[[Les Indes Galantes]]'' (1735–1736) * [[Jacques Offenbach]] — ''[[Ba-ta-clan]]'' (1855) * [[Georges Bizet]] — ''[[Les Pêcheurs de Perles]]'' (1863) * [[Alexander Borodin]] — ''[[Prince Igor]]'' (1890) * [[César Cui]] — ''The Mandarin's Son'' (1878) * [[Gilbert and Sullivan]] — ''[[The Mikado]]'' (1885) * [[Pietro Mascagni]] — ''[[Iris (opera)|Iris]]'' (1899) * [[Giacomo Puccini]] — ''[[Madama Butterfly]]'' (1904), ''[[Turandot]]'' (1926) * [[Richard Rodgers|Rogers]] and [[Oscar Hammerstein II|Hammerstein]] — ''[[The King And I]]'' (1951) * [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]] — ''[[Die Entführung aus dem Serail]]'' (1782) * [[Georg Friedrich Händel]] — ''[[Tamerlano]]'' (1724) and ''[[Serse]]'' (1738) * [[Stephen Sondheim]] -''[[Pacific Overtures]]'' (1976) *[[Richard Strauss]] — ''Salome'', Opera in one act based on Wilde's play (1905) *[[Richard Strauss]] — ''The Egyptian Helen'', Opera with libretto by Hugo von Hofmanstahl (1929) *[[Gioachino Rossini]] — [[Semiramide]] (1823) *[[Giuseppe Verdi]] — [[Nabucco]] (1842) and [[Aida]] (1871) ====Orchestral works==== *[[Mily Balakirev]]' — ''Tamara''. *[[Alexander Borodin]] — ''[[In the Steppes of Central Asia]]''; "[[Polovetsian Dances]]" from ''[[Prince Igor]]''. *[[Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov]] — ''[[Caucasian Sketches]]''. *[[Modest Mussorgsky]] — "Dance of the Persian Slaves" from ''[[Khovanshchina]]''. *[[Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov]] — ''[[Antar (Rimsky-Korsakov)|Antar]]''; ''[[Scheherazade (Rimsky-Korsakov)|Scheherezade]]''. ====Shorter musical pieces==== * [[Mili Balakirev]] — ''[[Islamey]]'' * [[Albert Ketèlbey]] — ''In a Persian Market'' (1920), ''In a Chinese Temple Garden'' (1925), and ''In the Mystic Land of Egypt'' (1931) * [[Sergei Rachmaninoff]] — ''Oriental Sketch'' ====Theatre==== * [[Tobias Bamberg]]'s [[magic (illusion)|magic]] stage act as "Okito" (Germany, 1893 - United States, 1908) * [[Oscar Wilde]]'s ''[[Salomé (play)|Salomé]]'' (1893, first performed in Paris 1896) * [[Alexander (magician)|Alexander's]] [[mentalism]] stage act (United States, c. 1890s - 1910s) * [[Chung Ling Soo|William Ellsworth Robinson]]'s, [[magic (illusion)|magic]] stage act as "Chung Ling Soo" (United States, 1900 - 1918) ====Painting==== * [[Théodore Chassériau]] (1819-1856) * [[Richard Dadd]] (1817-1886) * [[Eugène Delacroix]] (1798–1863) * [[Ludwig Deutsch]] (1855-1935) * [[Alphonse Etienne Dinet]] * [[Edmund Dulac]] * [[Eugène Fromentin]] (1820-1876) * [[Jean-Léon Gérôme]] (1824–1904) * [[William Holman Hunt]] (1827-1910) * [[Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres]] (1780–1867) * [[Edward Lear]] (1812-1888) * [[Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton|Frederic Leighton]] (1830-1896) * [[John Frederick Lewis]] (1805-1876) * [[Théodore Ralli]] (1852-1909) * [[David Roberts (painter)]] (1796-1864) * [[Alexandre Roubtzoff]] (1884–1949) * [[James Tissot]] (1836-1902) * [[Horace Vernet]] * [[Sir David Wilkie|David Wilkie]] (1785-1841) * [[Jean Baptiste Vanmour]] (1671-1731) * [[Jean-Etienne Liotard]] (1702-1789) ====Photography==== * [[Roger Fenton]] * [[Francis Frith]] ====Films==== * [[The Sheik (film)]] (1921) * [[Lives of a Bengal Lancer]] (1935) * [[Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom]] (1984) ==Edward Said and "Orientalism"== {{main|Orientalism (book)}} [[Image:Léon Cogniet - L'Expédition d'Egypte.jpg|thumb|300px|right|[[Léon Cogniet]]'s 1835 depiction of [[Napoleon I of France|Bonaparte]]'s Egyptian Expedition expresses Western perception of "The Exotic Orient"]] A central idea of [[Edward Said]] is that Western knowledge about the East is not generated from facts, but through imagined constructs that see all "Eastern" societies as fundamentally similar, all sharing crucial characteristics unlike those of "Western" societies, thus, this ‘a priori’ knowledge established the East as antithetical to the West. Such Eastern knowledge is constructed with literary texts and historical records that often are of limited understanding of the facts of life in the [[Middle East]].<ref>[http://fusion.dalmatech.com/%7Eadmin24/files/edward_said_orientalism.pdf ''Edward Said and The Production of Knowledge''], by [[Arjun Sethi|Sethi,Arjun]] (University of Maryland) accessed April 20, 2007.</ref> Before Said's book, "Oriental" was widely used as the opposite of "[[occident]]al" ('Western'). The comparisons between them generally were unfavorable to the Orient; however, respected institutions like the [[Oriental Institute]] of Chicago, the London [[School of Oriental and African Studies]] or [[Università degli studi di Napoli L'Orientale]], carried the term with no explicit reproach. The word "Orient" fell into disrepute after the word "Orientalism" was coined with the publication of Said's book. Following the ideas of [[Michel Foucault]], Said emphasized the relationship between power and knowledge in scholarly and popular thinking, in particular regarding European views of the [[Islamic]] [[Arab]] world. Said argued that Orient and Occident worked as oppositional terms, so that the "Orient" was constructed as a negative inversion of Western culture. The work of another thinker, Antonio Gramsci, was also important in shaping Edward Said's analysis in this area. In particular, Said can be seen to have been influenced by Gramsci's notion of hegemony in understanding the pervasiveness of Orientalist constructs and representations in Western scholarship and reporting, and their relation to the exercise of power over the 'Orient'.<ref>Zachary Lockman, 'Contending Visions of the Middle East: the History and Politics of Orientalism' (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2004), p. 205.</ref> Although Edward Said limited his discussion to academic study of Middle Eastern, African and Asian history and culture, he asserted that "Orientalism is, and does not merely represent, a significant dimension of modern political and intellectual culture." (p. 53) Said's discussion of academic Orientalism is almost entirely limited to late 19th and early 20th century scholarship. Most academic [[Area Studies]] departments had already abandoned an imperialist or colonialist paradigm of scholarship. He names the work of Bernard Lewis as an example of the continued existence of this paradigm, but acknowledges that it was already somewhat of an exception by the time of his writing (1977). <!-- Image with inadequate rationale removed: [[Image:AlbaneseButterfly.jpg|left|thumb|[[Licia Albanese]] as Cio-Cio San in [[Madam Butterfly]]; she sang the role over 300 times at the [[Metropolitan Opera]] and elsewhere in the 1940s to 1960s.]] --> The idea of an "Orient" is a crucial aspect of attempts to define "[[the West]]." Thus, histories of the [[Greco-Persian Wars]] may contrast the monarchical government of the Persian Empire with the democratic tradition of Athens, as a way to make a more general comparison between the Greeks and the Persians, and between "[[western world|the West]]" and "[[eastern world|the East]]", or "[[Europe]]" and "[[Asia]]", but make no mention of the other Greek city states, most of which were not ruled democratically. Taking a comparative and historical literary review of European, mainly British and French, scholars and writers looking at, thinking about, talking about, and writing about the peoples of the Middle East, Said sought to lay bare the relations of power between the colonizer and the colonized in those texts. Said's writings have had far-reaching implications beyond area studies in [[Middle East]], to studies of imperialist Western attitudes to [[India]], [[China]] and elsewhere. It was one of the foundational texts of [[postcolonialism|postcolonial studies]]. Said later developed and modified his ideas in his book ''Culture and Imperialism'' (1993). Many scholars now use Said's work to attempt to overturn long-held, often taken-for-granted Western ideological biases regarding non-Westerners in scholarly thought. Some post-colonial scholars would even say that the West's idea of itself was constructed largely by saying what others were not. If "Europe" evolved out of "[[Christendom]]" as the "not-Byzantium," early modern Europe in the late 16th century (see [[Battle of Lepanto]]) certainly defined itself as the "not-Turkey." Said puts forward several definitions of 'Orientalism' in the introduction to ''Orientalism''. Some of these have been more widely quoted and influential than others: *"A way of coming to terms with the Orient that is based on the Orient's special place in European Western experience." (p. 1) *"a style of thought based upon an [[ontological]] and [[epistemological]] distinction made between 'the Orient' and (most of the time) 'the Occident'." (p. 2) * "A Western style for dominating, restructuring, and having authority over the Orient." (p. 3) * "...particularly valuable as a sign of European-Atlantic power over the Orient than it is as a veridic discourse about the Orient." (p. 6) * "A distribution of geopolitical awareness into aesthetic, scholarly, economic, sociological, historical, and philological texts." (p. 12) In his Preface to the 2003 edition of [[Orientalism (book)|Orientalism]], Said also warned against the "falsely unifying rubrics that invent collective identities," citing such terms as "America," "The West," and "Islam," which were leading to what he felt was a manufactured "clash of civilisations." ===Criticisms of Said=== [[Image:Belly378.jpg|thumb|Lightly clad [[North African]] girls on a [[France|French]] [[postcard]], around the turn of the last century.]] Critics of Said's theory, such as the historian [[Bernard Lewis]], argue that Said's account contains many factual, methodological and conceptual errors. Said ignores many genuine contributions to the study of Eastern cultures made by Westerners during the Enlightenment and [[Victorian era]]s. Said's theory does not explain why the French and English pursued the study of Islam in the 16th and 17th centuries, long before they had any control or hope of control in the Middle East. He has been criticised for ignoring the contributions of Italian, Dutch, and particularly the massive contribution of German scholars. Lewis claims that the scholarship of these nations was more important to European Orientalism than the French or British, but the countries in question either had no colonial projects in the Mideast (Dutch and Germans), or no connection between their Orientalist research and their colonialism (Italians). Said's theory also does not explain why much of Orientalist study did nothing to advance the cause of imperialism. As Lewis asks, {{quote|What imperial purpose was served by deciphering the ancient Egyptian language, for example, and then restoring to the Egyptians knowledge of and pride in their forgotten, ancient past?|<ref>Lewis, Bernard, ''Islam and the West'', Oxford University Press, 1993, p.126</ref>}} Lewis argued that Orientalism arose from [[humanism]], which was distinct from Imperialist ideology, and sometimes in opposition to it. Orientalist study of Islam arose from the ''rejection'' of religious dogma, and was an important spur to discovery of alternative cultures. Lewis criticised as "intellectual protectionism" the argument that only those within a culture could usefully discuss it.<ref name="EH">{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Historians and Historical Writing|title=Bernard Lewis|first=Martin|last=Kramer|authorlink=Martin Kramer|publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn|location=London|year=1999|volume=Vol. 1|pages=pp. 719–720| url=http://www.geocities.com/martinkramerorg/BernardLewis.htm| accessdate=2006-05-23}}</ref> In his rebuttal to Lewis, Said stated that Lewis' negative rejoinder must be placed into its proper context. Since one of Said's principal arguments is that Orientalism was used (wittingly or unwittingly) as an instrument of empire, he contends that Lewis' critique of this thesis could hardly be judged in the disinterested, scholarly light that Lewis would like to present himself, but must be understood in the proper knowledge of what Said claimed was Lewis' own (often masked) neo-imperialist proclivities, as displayed by the latter's political or quasi-political appointments and pronouncements. Specifically, Lewis is aligned with prominent [[think tanks]] that promote [[neoconservative]] views on U.S. [[American intervention in the Middle East|Middle East Policy]]. Most scholars in [[Middle Eastern Studies]] departments at American and European universities take a position much closer to Said's than to Lewis', and scholars at certain privately-funded [[think tanks]], such as [[Martin Kramer]] at the [[Washington Institute for Near East Policy]], [[Daniel Pipes]] at the [[Middle East Forum]], who are aligned with Lewis, have alleged that this constitutes bias, and is a reason to cut federal funding from these [[Middle Eastern Studies]] departments, and subject all such academic departments to federal government oversight in order to prevent scholarly bias.<ref>[http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/03/28/intl New Approach to International Education :: Inside Higher Ed :: Higher Education's Source for News, and Views and Jobs<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Pipes is the author of a website, [[Campus Watch|campuswatch.org]], which encourages students to report bias on the part of their professors. Bryan Turner critiques Said’s work saying there were a multiplicity of forms and traditions of Orientalism. He is therefore critical of Said’s attempt to try to place them all under the framework of the orientalist tradition.<ref>Turner, B.S., 1994, ''Orientalism, Postmodernism and Globalism'', London, Routledge </ref> Other critics of Said have argued that while many distortions and fantasies certainly existed, the notion of "the Orient" as a negative mirror image of the West cannot be wholly true because attitudes to distinct cultures diverged significantly.<ref>[http://www.newcriterion.com/archive/17/jan99/said.htm Edward Said’s “Orientalism revisited” by Keith Windschuttle.]</ref> In any case it is a logical necessity that other cultures will be identified as "different", since otherwise their ''distinctive'' characteristics would be invisible, and that the most striking differences will hold up the mirror to the observing culture. <ref>[http://www.secularislam.org/articles/debunking.htm Edward Said and the Saidists: or Third World Intellectual Terrorism, by Ibn Warraq]</ref> John MacKenzie notes that Said’s ''Orientalism'' is critiqued for implying that western dominance is and has been unchallenged, ignoring for example the ‘[[Subaltern Studies]]’ group of scholars work of resistance and giving voice to the unvoiced.<ref>MacKenzie, J.M., 1995, ''Orientalism: history, theory and the arts'', Manchester, Manchester University Press, page 11 </ref> Further criticism includes the observation that the criticisms levied by Said at Orientalist scholars of being essentialist can in turn be levied at him for the way in which he writes of the west as a hegemonic mass, stereotyping its characteristics.<ref>MacKenzie, J.M., 1995, ''Orientalism: history, theory and the arts'', Manchester, Manchester University Press </ref> ==Eastern views of the West== In contrast, many of the essentially dismissive and patronizing concepts associated with Western "Orientalism" as expressed above are summed up — but in reverse orientation — in the epilogue to the "Chapter on the Western Regions" according to the ''[[Book of Later Han|Hou Hanshu]].'' This is the official history of the Later (or "Eastern") [[Han Dynasty]] (25-221 CE). The book was compiled by Fan Ye, (died 445 CE), and it succinctly expresses the Han opinion of the ''Western'' [[Hu]] culture (in what is now western China): :The Western Hu are far away. :They live in an outer zone. :Their countries' products are beautiful and precious, :But their character is debauched and frivolous. :They do not follow the rites of China. :Han has the canonical books. :They do not obey the Way of the Gods. :How pitiful! :How obstinate! Derogatory or stereotyped portrayals of Westerners appear in many works of Indian, Chinese and Japanese artists. In contrast, some Eastern artists adopted and adapted Western styles. The Indian painter [[Ravi Varma]] painted several works that are virtually indistinguishable from some Western orientalist images. In the late 20th century many Western cultural themes and images began appearing in Asian art and culture, especially in [[Japan]]. [[English language|English]] words and phrases are prominent in Japanese advertising and popular culture, and many Japanese [[anime]] are written around characters, settings, themes, and [[mythology|mythological]] figures derived from various Western cultural traditions. Recently, the term ''[[Occidentalism]]'' has been coined to refer to negative views of the Western world sometimes found in Eastern societies today. In a similar ideological vein to Occidentalism, [[Eurocentrism]] can refer to both negative views and excessively positive views of the Western World found in discussions about 'Eastern culture'. ==See also== <div style="-moz-column-count: 3; column-count:3; "> *[[Arabist]] *[[Black orientalism|Black Orientalism]] *[[Byzantine Empire]] *[[Circassian beauties]] *[[Colonialism]] *[[Dhimmi]] *[[Edward Said]] *[[Ethnic nationalism]] *[[Exoticism]] *[[Folklore]] *[[Hydraulic empire]] *[[Imperialism]] *[[Indology]] (study of India) *[[Islamism]] *[[Iranistics]] *[[Japonism]] *[[Robert Graham Irwin|Robert Irwin]] *[[Islamic studies by author (non-Muslim or academic|Islamic studies by author]] annotated list of 250 western & eastern non-Muslim or academic scholars, often with titles of their writings on Islam. *[[Middle Eastern studies]] *[[Modernism]] *[[Occidentalism]] *[[Orientalism (book)]] *[[Ottoman Empire]] *[[Oriental Institute]] *[[Silk Road]] *[[Sinology]] (study of China) *[[School of Oriental and African Studies|SOAS]] *[[Sotadic zone]] *[[Pan Arabism]] *[[Postcolonialism]] *[[Messianism]] *[[Romanticism]] *[[Joseph Needham]] *[[Karl A. Wittfogel]] *Sir [[John Woodroffe]] *[[Sufism]] </div> {{commonscat|Orientalist paintings}} ==External links== {{Wiktionary}} *[http://www.academicinfoshare.com/orientalism.htm Academic Information Centre] ===Resources=== *[http://www.indiran.co.uk/ Ancient Indian & Iran Trust, London UK] *[http://www.orient.ru/ Eurasian Orientalist Server] *[http://orientaliste.free.fr/index_eng.html The Orientalist Painters] ===Articles=== *[http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/cgi-local/DHI/dhi.cgi?id=dv1-48 ''Dictionary of the History of Ideas'':] China in Western Thought and Culture *[http://depts.washington.edu/uwch/silkroad/texts/hhshu/hou_han_shu.html#sec22 John E. Hill, translation in his e-edition of ''Hou Hanshu''] *[http://ambassadors.net/archives/issue14/selected_studies4.htm "Whenever, Wherever!" The Discourse of Orientalist Transnationalism in the Construction of Shakira] by [[Adel Iskandar]] * [http://www.geocities.com/martinkramerorg/SaidSplash.htm Edward Said's Splash] The impact of Edward Said's book on Middle Eastern studies, by [[Martin Kramer]]. * [http://campcatatonia.org/article/1555/frontier-orientalism Frontier Orientalism] — an article by Austrian anthropologist [[Andre Gingrich]] *[http://www.all-art.org/history386.html Orientalism in the "History of Art"] *[http://tls.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,25335-2647261,00.html Orientalist art and photography] *[http://www.darnleyfineart.com Darnley Fine Art] *[http://www.roubtzoff.org Artistic Association Alexander Roubtzoff] Russian painter (1884-1949) fallen in love with Tunisia *[http://citizentrack.blogspot.com/2007/04/edward-said-andthe-production-of.html Edward Said and the Production of Knowledge] *[http://citizentrack.blogspot.com/2007/05/orientalism-as-tool-of-colonialism.html Orientalism as a tool of Colonialism] ==Further reading== * Balagangadhara, S. N. "The Future of the Present: Thinking Through Orientalism", ''Cultural Dynamics'', Vol. 10, No. 2, (1998), pp. 101-23. ISSN 0921-3740. * Biddick, Kathleen. "Coming Out of Exile: Dante on the Orient(alism) Express", ''The American Historical Review'', Vol.&nbsp;105, No.&nbsp;4. (Oct., 2000), pp.&nbsp;1234–1249. * Davies, Kristian. ''The Orientalists: Western artists in Arabia, the Sahara, Persia & India''. New York: Laynfaroh, 2005 (hardcover, ISBN 0-9759783-0-6). * Crawley, William. "Sir William Jones: A vision of Orientalism", ''Asian Affairs'', Vol.&nbsp;27, Issue&nbsp;2. (Jun. 1996), pp.&nbsp;163–176. * Fleming, K.E. "Orientalism, the Balkans, and Balkan Historiography", ''The American Historical Review'', Vol.&nbsp;105, No.&nbsp;4. (Oct., 2000), pp.&nbsp;1218–1233. * Halliday, Fred. "'Orientalism' and Its Critics", ''British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies'', Vol.&nbsp;20, No.&nbsp;2. (1993), pp.&nbsp;145–163. * Irwin, Robert. ''For lust of knowing: The Orientalists and their enemies''. London: Penguin/Allen Lane, 2006 (hardcover, ISBN 0-7139-9415-0). As ''Dangerous Knowledge: Orientalism and Its Discontents''. New York: Overlook Press, 2006 (hardcover, ISBN 1-58567-835-X). ** [http://www.spectator.co.uk/books_pfv.php?id=3226 Reviewed] by Philip Hensher in [http://www.spectator.co.uk/ ''The Spectator''], January&nbsp;28, 2006. ** [http://arts.telegraph.co.uk/core/Content/displayPrintable.jhtml;jsessionid=0RCNC1ARM0BWJQFIQMFSFGGAVCBQ0IV0?xml=/arts/2006/02/05/boirw05.xml&site=6 Reviewed] by Allan Massie in the [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ ''Telegraph''], February&nbsp;4, 2006. ** [http://www.newstatesman.com/Bookshop/200602130032 Reviewed] by Terry Eagleton in the [http://www.newstatesman.com/ ''New Statesman''], February&nbsp;13, 2006. ** [http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/books/reviews/article347902.ece Reviewed] by Bill Saunders in [http://www.independent.co.uk/ ''The Independent''], February&nbsp;26, 2006. ** [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2006/02/26/boirw19.xml Reviewed] by Noel Malcolm in [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ ''The Telegraph''], February&nbsp;26, 2006. ** [http://www.lrb.co.uk/v28/n11/jasa01_.html Reviewed] by Maya Jasanoff in the [http://www.lrb.co.uk/ ''London Review of Books''], June&nbsp;8, 2006. ** [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/01/books/01grim.html?ex=1163394000&en=b2e925d36504c43c&ei=5070 Reviewed] by William Grimes in the [http://www.nytimes.com/ ''New York Times''], November&nbsp;1, 2006. ** [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/09/AR2006110901770.html Reviewed] by Michael Dirda in [http://www.washingtonpost.com/ ''The Washington Post''], November&nbsp;12, 2006. ** [http://bostonreview.net/BR32.1/rosen.html Reviewed] by Lawrence Rosen in the [http://bostonreview.net/ ''Boston Review''], January/February 2007. * Jersild, Austin. ''Orientalism and Empire: North Caucasus Mountain Peoples and the Georgian Frontier, 1845–1917''. Montreal: McGill–Queen's University Press, 2002 (hardcover, ISBN 0-7735-2328-6); 2003 (paperback, ISBN 0-7735-2329-4). * Kabbani, Rana. ''Imperial Fictions: Europe's Myths of Orient''. London: Pandora Press, 1994 (paperback, ISBN 0-04-440911-7). * Kalmar, Ivan Davidson & Penslar, Derek. [http://www.library.utoronto.ca/moorish/publications/orijews.intro.html ''Orientalism and the Jews'']; Brandeis 2005 * Kennedy, Dane. "'Captain Burton's Oriental Muck Heap': The Book of the Thousand Nights and the Uses of Orientalism", ''The Journal of British Studies'', Vol.&nbsp;39, No.&nbsp;3. (Jul., 2000), pp.&nbsp;317–339. * Kincheloe, Joe L. and Shirley R. Steinberg, The Miseducation of the West: How the Schools and Media Distort Our Understanding of Islam. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Press, 2004. (Arabic Edition, 2005). * Klein, Christina. ''Cold War Orientalism: Asia in the Middlebrow Imagination, 1945–1961''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003 (hardcover, ISBN 0-520-22469-8; paperback, ISBN 0-520-23230-5). * Knight, Nathaniel. "Grigor'ev in Orenburg, 1851–1862: Russian Orientalism in the Service of Empire?", ''[[Slavic Review]]'', Vol.&nbsp;59, No.&nbsp;1. (Spring, 2000), pp.&nbsp;74–100. * Kontje, Todd. ''German Orientalisms''. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2004 (ISBN 0-472-11392-5). * Little, Douglas. ''American Orientalism: The United States and the Middle East Since 1945''. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2001 (hardcover, ISBN 0-8078-2737-1); 2002 (paperback, ISBN 0-8078-5539-1); London: I.B. Tauris, 2002 (new ed., hardcover, ISBN 1-86064-889-4). * López-Calvo, Ignacio, ed. ''Alternative Orientalisms in Latin America and Beyond.'' Newcastle, England: [[Cambridge Scholars Publishing]], 2007 (hardcover, ISBN 1-84718-143-0; ISBN 13: 9781847181435 * Lowe, Lisa. ''Critical Terrains: French and British Orientalisms''. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1992 (hardcover, ISBN 978-0801425790; paperback, ISBN 978-0801481956). * Macfie, Alexander Lyon. ''Orientalism''. White Plains, NY: Longman, 2002 (ISBN 0-582-42386-4). * MacKenzie, John. ''Orientalism: History, theory and the arts''. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1995 (hardcover, ISBN 0-7190-1861-7; paperback, ISBN 0-7190-4578-9). * Murti, Kamakshi P. ''India: The Seductive and Seduced "Other" of German Orientalism''. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2001 (hardcover, ISBN 0-313-30857-8). * ''Noble dreams, wicked pleasures: Orientalism in America, 1870–1930'' by Holly Edwards (Editor). Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000 (hardcover, ISBN 0-691-05003-1; paperback, ISBN 0-691-05004-X). * ''Orientalism and the Jews'', edited by Ivan Davidson Kalmar and Derek Penslar. Waltham, MA: Brandeis University Press, 2004 (paperback, ISBN 1-58465-411-2). * ''The Orientalists: Delacroix to Matisse: The Allure of North Africa and the Near East'', edited by Mary Anne Stevens. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 1984 (paperback, ISBN 0-297-78435-8). * Paul, James. "Orientalism Revisited: An Interview with Edward&nbsp;W. Said", ''MERIP Middle East Report'', No.&nbsp;150. (Jan.–Feb., 1988), pp.&nbsp;32–36. * Peltre, Christine. ''Orientalism in Art''. New York: [[Abbeville Publishing Group (Abbeville Press, Inc.)]], 1998 (hardcover, ISBN 0-7892-0459-2). * Prakash, Gyan. "Orientalism Now", ''History and Theory'', Vol.&nbsp;34, No.&nbsp;3. (Oct., 1995), pp.&nbsp;199–212. * Richardson, Michael. "Enough Said: Reflections on Orientalism", ''Anthropology Today'', Vol.&nbsp;6, No.&nbsp;4. (Aug., 1990), pp.&nbsp;16–19. * Rotter, Andrew&nbsp;J. "Saidism without Said: Orientalism and U.S. Diplomatic History", ''The American Historical Review'', Vol.&nbsp;105, No.&nbsp;4. (Oct., 2000), pp.&nbsp;1205–1217. * Sahni, Kalpana. ''Crucifying the Orient: Russian Orientalism and the Colonization of Caucasus and Central Asia''. Bangkok; Oslo: White Orchid Press, 1997 (hardcover, ISBN 974-8299-50-3). * Said, Edward W. ''[[Orientalism (book)|Orientalism]]''. New York: Pantheon Books, 1978 (ISBN 0-394-42814-5); New York: Vintage, 1979 (ISBN 0-394-74067-X). * Schneider, Jane. ''Italy's "Southern Question": Orientalism in One Country''. Oxford: Berg Publishers, 1998 (hardcover, ISBN 1-85973-992-X; paperback, ISBN 1-85973-997-0). * Varisco, Daniel Martin. "Reading Orientalism: Said and the Unsaid." Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2007. (hardcover ISBN 978-0-295-98758-3; paperback 978-0-295-98752-1). * ''Visions of the East: Orientalism in film'' by Matthew Bernstein (Editor), Gaylyn Studlar (Editor). Piscataway, NJ: [[Rutgers University Press]], 1997 (hardcover, ISBN 0-8135-2294-3; paperback, ISBN 0-8135-2295-1). == Notes == == References == <div class="references-small"> <references /> </div> [[Category:Orientalism|*]] [[Category:Concepts (nationalism studies)]] [[ar:استشراق]] [[ca:Orientalisme]] [[cs:Orientalistika]] [[de:Orientalismus (Kunst)]] [[es:Orientalismo]] [[eo:Orientismo (ideologio)]] [[fa:خاورشناسی]] [[fr:Orientalisme]] [[it:Orientalismo]] [[lt:Orientalistika]] [[nl:Oriëntalistiek]] [[ja:オリエンタリズム]] [[ru:Востоковедение]] [[fi:Orientalismi]] [[ru:Ориентализм]] [[sk:Orientalistika]] [[tr:Oryantalizm]] [[zh:東方主義]]