Representation and Culture Orientalism by Essay

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These perceptions form the basis of various ideological stances that are translated into policy and action. In the modern context therefore there is a dangerous continuation of the myth that has grown up around the stereotypical discourse of Orientalism. The link between the construction of Orientalism and contemporary politics is clearly referred to in the book:

My contention is that Orientalism is fundamentally a political doctrine willed over the Orient because the Orient was weaker than the West, which elided the Orient' difference with its weakness. . . . As a cultural apparatus Orientalism is all aggression, activity, judgment, will to truth, and knowledge."

In essence this book interrogates the foundational assumptions and perceptions that constitute the ideological construction of Orientalism. As one critic notes, Said argues"...for the use of "narrative" rather than "vision" in interpreting the geographical landscape known as the Orient…" (Orientalism) He stresses that the scholar should not attempt some overarching and generalized 'vision' of the Orient but that there should be a focus on the intricate complexity and dynamic 'narrative' of a culture that is not pre-determined by ideology or Western assumptions about that culture.

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There have been numerous positive responses to the work and from many quarters it is seen as an essential deconstruction of Western meta-narratives. As Ansell-Pearson, Parry, and Squires (1997) note,

One of the most arresting aspects of Orientalism was Said's contention that seemingly impartial, objective academic disciplines had in fact colluded with, and indeed been instrumental in, colonial subjugation and administration. Orientalism provided powerful evidence of the complicity between politics and knowledge.

(Ansell-Pearson, Parry, and Squires 127)

However, there has also been a great deal of criticism of this book in recent years. An article that provides a more negative assessment of the work is a review by Malcolm Kerr. Kerr reiterates a common criticism of the book, which is that, while insightful, the work is "…spoiled by overzealous prosecutorial argument in which Professor Said, in his eagerness to spin too large a web, leaps at conclusions and tries to throw everything but the kitchen sink into a preconceived frame of analysis." (Kerr) Despite these critiques there is little doubt that his book has made a valuable contribution to the way that perceptions and opinions about other cultures are.....

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