Critical Commentary on Orientalism - Essay Example

Critical Commentary on Orientalism Introduction The term orientalism is descriptive of the portrayal of different characteristics of Middle Eastern cultures by writers from the West. While some of these writings show the Eastern cultures in a positive light, the majority of them are biased and emphasise on existing or imaginary negative aspects as perceived by strangers to the Eastern culture. There are Western based designers, writers and even artists who have, over the centuries, sought to depict different facets of the Eastern cultures. One famous scholar, Edward Said, actually addressed different facets of orientalism in his book on the subject (Said 1978). His discourse uses both artistic as well as academic trains of thought to define different qualities of Middle Eastern cultures as defined from the Western perspective. According to Ghazoul (2004), among other scholars, Edward Said’s observations are reminiscent of attitudes that extolled European imperialism in the days of colonialism. According to Said (1978) the entire concept of ‘orientalism’ is compromised, in the eyes of most Arabic and Asian peoples because it appears to them to be filled with archaic prejudices against Eastern cultures. Moreover, the word ‘orientalism’ is also used to refer to the definitions of Middle Eastern cultures by scholars who hold more pro-Eastern attitudes. Another common complaint is that Western historians and scholars’ definitions of orientalism do not seek to make distinctions between the different tribes and cultures that make up the Middle East (Varisco 2013). Their definition of ‘orientalism’ is based on similar constructs to those in the West where, even though different nations may have different ethnic groups, they all embrace a progressive culture based on Judeo-Christian concepts. The Meaning of Orientalism According to Said, there are different explanations that can be said to signify the true meaning of orientalism. One of these is that orientalism is basically an all-inclusive concept that is used to describe the place of the Eastern cultures in Western imagination. It can also be said to be a Western-based method that is used to restructure, dominate, and wield authority over the nations that are considered as being part of the Orient. According to Ghazoul (2004) orientalism can also be said to be descriptive of the dissemination of matters concerning geopolitical awareness into scholarly, aesthetic, sociological, economic, and historical texts. Edward Said introduced different meanings into the words ‘occident’ and ‘orient’. From his discourse, it would seem that the term ‘Orient’ basically evolved into being a negative construal of Eastern cultures by the Western culture. Insights into the Critics and Historical Scholars’ definition of Orientalism Edward Said was deeply interested in the scholarly study of African, Middle Eastern, and Asian cultures and history. He emphasised that his understanding of the concept of orientalism was not merely representative of modern intellectual as well as social and political cultures in Middle Eastern nations (Orrells 2012). Orientalism, to a large extent, deals in studies into the Eastern cultures between the 19th and 20th centuries. As an area of study, it remains controversial because it has to ties to the archaic beliefs that characterised colonialist or imperialist regimes. According to academic scholars like Mellor (2004) the whole concept of the ‘Orient’ is tied with how the West defines itself. In defining aspects of the concept of orientalism, Said tried to point out that one of the major factors that defined this issue was the reality of the divergence of power between colonisers and the colonised tribes more in the past. According to Irwin (2006) there are many Western ideological preconceptions that are hidden within the concepts of orientalism. According to Irwin (2006) it is even a possibility that the West’s definition of itself was created through determining the shortcomings of other cultures all over the world. Edward Said emphasised that if Europe, more than eight centuries ago, got its definition and identity by recognising that it was not ‘Byzantium’, modern European nations and the United States today define their existence by not identifying as being of ‘Eastern’ extraction. Limitations to the Critics and Historical Scholars’ definition of Orientalism According to Irwin (2006) it is a fact that the subject of orientalism is based on the West’s concept of itself. Academic scholars like Jerome Christensen and Eric Meyer have studied the ways in which the concept of Orientalism is based on European preoccupations and is mostly defined as the ‘other’ (Huggan 2005). This defensive habit is the result of not having any control over a constantly expanding and changing world that is filled with new questions as well as uncertainty the true basis of the Western identity. For scholarly critics, the type of orientalism that exists in ancient as well as modern texts is characterised by the recognition of the significance of Western political power. According to Gunny (2004) this is evident in the literary works of recognised poets like Alfred Lord Tennyson and Percy Bysshe Shelley, both of whom were fascinated with other cultures’ mythologies. Even though they consumed literature on Eastern cultures, they were involved enough in their own religion of Christianity to observe a definite distance that still preserved them above their subjects of study. Other literary critics have pointed out that the subject of gender in oriental nations has also been used to increase distance and even objectify citizens in Eastern cultures. According to writers such as Meyda Yeğenoğlu, Alan Richardson, and Joseph W. Lew, literary experts such as Lord Byron used oriental women in ways in which they were identified as the ‘other’ because of the extent to which they were removed from Western concepts of living ordinary lives (Ghazoul 2004). According to Ghazoul (2004) most nineteenth and twentieth century writings about orientalism are mainly based on Western attitudes and how they have impacted relations Easterners and people from Western civilisations. From these literary texts, it is easier to determine the financial as well as cultural mayover understanding about the cultures of the Orient. All scholarly and academic findings have to give testimony to the superior mayof the European and American nations as well as their cultures whether subtly or intentionally. This means that for citizens from oriental nations to understand their own cultures, they have to seek academic texts that ignore any annals of European political domination in the Orient and instead focus on cultural definitions of the Orient. Another problem with literary definitions of orientalism has to do with its definition of the true qualities of Eastern cultures. According to Bongiovanni (2007) the Western-created notion of orientalism lays emphasis on exteriority at the cost of true in-depth aspects of different Eastern cultures. This means that the methods that are used to evaluate only pay attention to the exterior of a culture and its people. According to Ashcroft (2004), this is made evident in the fact that all interpretations of oriental texts as well as do not really contain any mysteries that require reflection. The translations of ancient as well as modern oriental texts show the writers or dramatists as speaking openly about the Orient’s cultures, while exposing any and all of the Orient’s mysteries to the reader. This is suggestive of the notion that the Oriental cultures are completely open to strangers and do not encourage the creation of secrets or mysteries. The Western definition of orientalism also impresses upon oriental authors the burden of conducting themselves in ways that are more characteristic of Western writers. For instance, each of the Orientalist authors are depicted as writing with the consideration that other writers practice as much scholastic integrity as they do and also have validity (Almond 2007). In addition, they are shown as constantly referring to other esteemed writers and thereby spreading their ideas even as they enforce them in their discursive field. This does not really indicate the true or genuine way in which writers of the Orient functioned in the past or continued to function, but instead generates an artificial enactment of what was presumed to be the reality of the literary and ordinary world in the Orient. Conclusion The Western explanation of orientalism is faulty because it does not correctly define the orient but instead imposes its own interpretations on the reader on what the Orient is and is made up of. It is also faulty because it is based on colonial aspects that have not really been challenged and replaced. This means that all new assumptions are more likely to be based on an erroneous background. There are some scholars who have begun to challenge the assumptions of the texts on the Orient, though. Within Oriental nations, the effect of the European-identified definition of the Orient is more obvious than among ordinary citizens in the Orient or outside it. References Almond, I. (2007) The new orientalists: postmodern representations of Islam from Foucault to Baudrillard, I. B. Tauris, London. Ashcroft, B. (2004) ‘Representation and its discontents: orientalism, Islam and the Palestinian crisis’, Religion, vol. 34, pp. 113-121. Bongiovanni, L.A. (2007) ‘Turbaned faces going by’: James Joyce and Irish Orientalism.” Ariel’, a Review of International English Literature, vol. 38, no. 4, pp. 25-49. Ghazoul, F.J. (2004) ‘Orientalism: clearing the way for cultural dialogue’, Religion, vol. 34, pp. 123-127. Gunny, A. (2004) Perceptions of Islam in European writings, The Islamic Foundation, London. Huggan, G. (2005) ‘(Not) reading Orientalism’, Research in African Literatures, vol. 36, no. 3, pp. 124-136. Irwin, R. (2006) Dangerous knowledge: Orientalism and its discontents, Overlook, Woodstock, NY. Mellor, P.A. (2004) ‘Orientalism, representation, and religion: the reality behind the myth’, Religion, vol. 34, pp. 99-112. Orrells, D. (2012) ‘Greek love, orientalism and race: intersections in Classical reception’, The Cambridge Classical Journal, vol. 58, pp. 194-230. Said, E. (1978) Orientalism, postmodernism, and globalism, Routledge, New York. Varisco, D.M. (2013) ‘Edward said and the culture behind Orientalism’, interdisciplinary studies in the Humanities, vol. 7, no 2, pp. 42-54. Read More