Talk:Orientalism

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[edit] Let's look at the original text....

I think that some basic essential points are not present in this conversation and the post.

Orientalism (1978) is so important because it articulated the idea that the colonizers (mainly Britain and France in Said's example) used the idea of the Orient to contrast their own image, idea, personality, experience (pg. 2). He defines Orientalism as, "a style of thought based upon an ontological and epistemological distinction made betwee "the Orient" and (most of the time) "the Occident."" (pg. 2).

It's an academic tradition, which is where/why it gains discursive power. As a result, the Orient is bound by the ideas of romance, exotic beings, haunting memories and landscapes (pg. 1) that the colonizing West projected and created, therefore calling into being on "the Orient".

The thing I find missing is the concept of mutual definition exemplified by Orientalism: The colonizer relies on the exotic Other to define himself [gendered language intentional].

Said, Edward. (1978). Orientalism. New York: Vintage Books.

Orientalism is also the progency of the process of the modernism and renaissance. Thus, there is a common repute among the Islamist thinkers about Orientalism that it is an intellectual-Crusade toward the Islamic world. A Turkish intellectual Ömer Baharoğlu said that Orientalism contributes the imperialistic activity of the West (http://www.diyalogmasali.com/modules.php?name=Sections&op=viewarticle&artid=31). Furthermore, it has been interpreted by Islamic intellectuals as a process to make degenerate the Islamic faith.

[edit] Neutral Point of View (abused)

My attempt to note that many scholars would question what this page merely asserts was met with reverts. So, I ask, if I can't say that some scholars think "Orientalism" is nonsense, may I assert without qualification, that Ingres' work is "arty soft-core cryptopornography"?

PS: Despite the quip, "Sofa" is a Turkish word, just like Divan. But then actually learning an "Oriental" language takes precious time away from learning to theorize.

  • Hi, 209.94.133.143. Here at the Wikipedia, we approach all articles from a Neutral point of view. No exceptions. Your statement dismissed the previous paragraphs without so much as a single rebuttal. You don't know how much research and deliberation went into making the article, so you can't just do that. If you have something to add (say, a "criticisms of orientalism" section), then let's flesh it out right here; the talk page is the right place to discuss such issues. Now, what are your problems with the current article? Which scholars would question it, and why? Let's work together to make the article better. --Ardonik 08:17, Jul 17, 2004 (UTC)
Actually, I would be terribly interested if someone wrote a paragraph naming exactly which scholars actually think that orientalism is non-sense and what their criticisms are. The "usual suspects" (i.e. Alan Bloom and Dinesh D'Souza) seem pretty profoundly uninterested in the topic. There is a *HUGE* controversy over Said himself, but this doesn't as far as I know extend to his work.
One of the main points of orientalism is that Europeans of the early 19th century tended to lump together China, India, and the Middle East into one category with a presumed uniform history. I don't know of any recent scholar that (1) denies that Europeans of the early 19th century did this and (2) thinks that lumping together China, India, and the Middle East into one category is useful or generally a good idea.
Roadrunner 08:59, 17 Jul 2004 (UTC)
You sound like someone informed on the subject of Orientalism (unlike me). The new paragraph is a vast improvment, I think; would either of you mind if I moved this stuff into a rudimentary "criticisms of Orientalism" section? --Ardonik 09:05, Jul 17, 2004 (UTC)

I can't say I've noticed the word "oriental" used as a derogatory term in the last bunch of decades - is this a wrong impression I have? Should the text perhaps have some examples of this?

Usually it's not used directly as an insult but the term generalizes people from a HUGE geographic region and that generality tends to help with marginalizing their experiences. I've seen situations where that type of thinking results in some racial slurs that turn out to be inaccurate and the insulted "Oriental" ends up laughing at the ignorant bigot. Although it's really no laughing manner since I think "oriental" is closely tied in with the thinking that they all look alike, so there's no need to differentiate between the "oriental" races. Frankly, that is why I have a strong reaction against any attempts to try label "orientalism" as a valid scholarly pursuit as it seems to be an affirmation of the Eurocentric and Western-biased thinking that has colored this academic pursuit from the start. -kainee, 19:04 April 28 2005
Kainee, again you say that the term "generalizes people from a HUGE geographic region and that generality tends to help with marginalizing their experiences" as though that's unusal, or a problem. But EXACTLY the same thing is true of 'Asian', 'Eastern' and, on the other side, 'Western'. And yet no one ever suggests that the generality of the concept "western" 'tends to help with marginalizing their [westerners'] experiences'. I simply see no logic in this argument. Sorry, but I just can't see it. Paul B 23:20, Apr 28 2005 (UTC)

The article lists the publication date of Said's book Orientalism as 1979, yet the article Edward Said lists it as 1978. The University of California at Irvine's Critical Theory website shows the book being published by Pantheon in 1978, and has an entry for 1977, most likely a shorter article with the same title (a precursor to the book?). I'm going to change the publication date to 1978, but it would be nice if someone could clarify the relationship of the Georgia Review article of the same name (or perhaps that belongs on the Said page). Mykej 05:38, 6 Nov 2004 (UTC)

I've changed the opening section because it confuses several issues. 'Colonialism' was not exclusive to the east - which was known for a long time before colonialism itself. Secondly the East was not simply 'the other' (a problematic concept), since there was also Africa, the Americas and other parts of the world that were characterised differently.
The following notion as expressed above by 'Roadrunner' seems to me to be false, "One of the main points of orientalism is that Europeans of the early 19th century tended to lump together China, India, and the Middle East into one category with a presumed uniform history." Not as far as I'm aware! From the late 18th century there was extensive research into this area. Of course knowledge of these areas was patchy and developed slowly, and no doubt there were generalised ideas of Eastern culture - as there are among many people today, in whom the generalised West/East opposition persists. Paul B 11:56, 14 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I'm certainly suspicious about the concepts described here. Clearly Westerners were fascinated by the Orient as they gradually became aware of it. Attitudes were not universally negative - though some were - the idea of the "Inscrutable Oriental" for example. Out-and-out racism developed later on as "scientific" racialism took hold, but was directed at Africans rather than Asians whom racists generally took to be on a higher plane of development and civilisation (if not quite on the level of white Europeans). In the 20th C the rise of Japan was seen as a threat to European and American hegemony and this encouraged a fear of the "yellow peril" - echoed again in Western attitudes to Communist China, North Korea and North Vietnam.

But all this seems to be quite different to the way that Orientalism is said by Said and his followers to be akin to Islamophobia or imperialism. China and Japan, the main objects of Orientalism, were never colonised (India and SE Asia were). The Middle East only was occupied by Western powers for a brief period after World War I. During the 19thC it was part of the Ottoman Empire and was not seen as an area where Western colonisation was a practical possibility. Orientalism IMO desribes an attitude to a culture which was a rival to the West in its long history of civilisation and sophisticated arts, crafts and philosophy - an attitude which was very mixed.

Totally my own POV so doesn't belong in the article but surely Said's interpretation doesn't have the field to itself?

Something should surely also be said about Eastern attitudes to the West in this period. To ignore this appears itself somewhat culturally biased!

Exile 17:12, 28 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I find the use of the words "orient" or "oriental" very anachronistic as it seems very based in the mentality of Marco Polo's journey to the "Orient." I would say that most so called "Oriental" people refer to themselves in more ethnic and nationalistic terms like Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, etc. Hence, the reason for the splitting of the old Oriental Studies into more regional studies. It's akin to scholarly pursuit about Western cultures- it would be terribly insensitive for there to just be a "White Studies" that just lumps everyone in the same category and talks in generalities about culture and custom. Usually there would also be the same sort of specialization in a specific region's language, culture and society. Of course this is all my opinion but I see using the term "orient" or "oriental" as inaccurate and reflective of the old bias of an eurocentric view. It can actually be construed as disrespect and callousness. Also, before reading this article, I had no idea "occidental" was the term used opposite "oriental." I think that goes to show something about the bias here. -kainee, 13:48, April 27 2005 (EST)
Hi Kainee.
I don't think there is "a bias here". The article is about the Western scholarly and cultural tradition of interest in Eastern cultures, which has traditionally beeen called "Orientalism". I see no reason why people in the East can't also have had a generic concept of "Western studies", or why that would be "insensitive" to the West. "Orient" is just a word, in itself is no different from "Asian" in that it "lumps everyone in the same category". We have both big/inclusive and narrow/specific concepts in many areas. Obviously specialists will exist who will have a more thorough knowledge of distinct cultures. The main problem with "Oriental" as a concept in our globalised culture is the fact that it presupposes that a Western point of view. The fact that term has taken on some specific cultural meanings is also relevant to the article. Paul B 18:20, Apr 27 2005 (UTC)
I'm sorry as I should clarify. I meant "a bias here" to point to the usage of Orient and Oriental since in the definition, it was deemed necessary to point out that it was coined by Westerners. I felt the bias in the name (not in the article) was in how it was first created and by whom. I think it is a term that shouldn't be used as it is an anachronism. Exile's post earlier that points out that China and Japan weren't colonised seems to gloss over the fact that those two countries still suffered from the imperialistic policies of the European countries who certainly in many cases had no respect for the sovereignty of the native government. Also, the label of "occidental" is considered antiquated so why can't "Oriental" be considered an anachronism too? -kainee 14:32, April 27 2005
'Occidental' is simply antiquated in relation to Western, which is the identical term, except in English. People talk about 'Western culture' all the time without thinking it is demeaning. I don't think the word's the real problem. Paul B 18:58, Apr 27 2005 (UTC)
Then why can't it just be Eastern studies? There seems to be a persistent insistence to use this specific label of "Orient" and frankly, the only time I hear this word used is when Westerners use it to describe an Eastern culture. It's weird to see this dichotomy in usage. All I'm trying to point out is that the term Oriental seems to be falling into disuse and except for a few cheap marketing schemes, it doesn't seem to be viewed as a very scholarly name by the different people and cultures "Orientalism" is supposed to focus on. It just seems to me like the people editing this entry are determined to keep the label, Oriental, no matter what valid points might be brought up such as the negative connotations/stereotypes that this label has taken on. -kainee 06:10, Apr 28 2005
There's no 'persistent' insistance on the use of the word, just on the fact that there's nothing insulting about it. You have just used the word 'Westerners' completely unproblematically while complaining that 'oriental' combines 'different peoples and cultures'. There's a weird kind of double-think at work here. Yes, of course it's used to describe 'Eastern cultures'. That's what it means. It's persisted as a term for 'Eastern' in a global sense, because of other usages of 'Eastern' such as the "Eastern bloc" during the Cold War. I can see no more reason to ascribe negative stereotypes of Asians to the label than negative stereotypes of the Irish people are to be blamed on the word "Irish". Paul B 00:05, Apr 29 2005 (UTC)
hello, just a thought that might help here - the term "orientalism" as used here is the name given to a particular way of looking at a particular region. This is distinct from referring to the region in question as "the orient" or people from that region as "orientals"... you see? It would be perfectly consistent to say that "orientalists" studied the "Eastern world" ... the importance in keeping the name lies it its correct interpretation historically- "orientalism" of the eighteenth century is significantly different from "eastern studies" of the twenty-first century, largely due the whole range of biases and prejudices that "orientalist philosophers" were working with- those same biases you seem to take issue with. It is important in this case to keep the term "orientalism" that we can be specific about what kind of "eastern studies" we are talking about. To change the term would be somewhat similar to advocating changing "alchemy" to "chemistry" or "mysticism" to "organized religion" .. hope this is helpful.
The problem with that is that you are saying that one recent usage should be determined to be the "real" meaning. But "Orientalism" originally just meant study of eastern cultures.In the arts it also means imitation of eastern design-styles. Even the modern usage is problematic. How do we determine whois working with the "same biases you seem to take issue with" - every scholar prior to a certain date? What counts as part of the "discourse" of Orientalism? There's tendency for it to be used as nothing more than a buzz-word for whatever is perceived as dated in the field. Paul B 09:26, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

IMHO, this article would be helped tremendously if it took on the subject chronologically; in its present form, it jumps into its subject, the study of Asia by Europeans, at the end, with Said's book, rather than at the beginning. The origins of scholarly orientalism could probably be traced to the late renaissance, with the first Jesuit missions to Ming China and their translations of Chinese classics. Scholarly Orientalism, the study of Asian languages and cultures by Europeans of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, isn't much covered here. While it's true that Oriental Languages and Oriental Studies have mostly been eclipsed by regional studies departments in contemporary Academia, Orientalism was a serious intellectual movement in the west for centuries, and shouldn't be reduced entirely to Said's critique, although Said's work should of course feature prominently in any comprehensive history of the idea.

I am also concerned that European attitudes are presented as being somewhat monolithic; in reality, views of Asia by European observers were quite different, and predominant views changed over the centuries; for example, many enlightenment philosophers idealized China as a rational society run by Mandarin philosopher class, and many western thinkers have been enthusiastic proponents of Asian philosophy, or at least what they understood of them. Tom Radulovich 00:11, 29 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Yes, I agree. I think this article is a bit of a mess, and I've been meaning to overhaul it for a while. Part of the problem is the multiple uses of the word "Oriental". Said is almost exclusively interested in portrayals of Middle-East/Islamic culture. Many Indians have criticisms to make about Western accounts of Indian culture, but, from what I've read, don't tend to associate this with the term/concept 'Orientalism' as such. However 'Oriental' is also often used specifically as a synonym for "East Asian" - Chinese, Japanese etc - a usage that excludes the cultures that are at the centre of Said's study. I think these multiple usages need to be clarified; the artistic/cultural traditions need to be separated from the scholarly work done on Asian cultures and then the Said-specific usage needs to be addressed. Paul B 13:30, 29 Apr 2005 (UTC)

"However the rise of both Christianity and Islam produced a sharp opposition between European Christian cultures their enemies to the East and in North Africa." First, this sentence is missing a word, and second, I find the word "enemies" unnecessarily strong in this case. --Anon

First what word is missing? Secondly, the term 'enemies' refers to Islamic cultures as percieved by medieval Christian ones. I don't think it's too strong given the history of brutal conflict between the two religions in the Middle ages. However, can you think of an improvement? Paul B 07:52, 29 Apr 2005 (UTC)
OK, made changes. Paul B 07:58, 29 Apr 2005 (UTC)

[edit] summary of changes

Following Tom's suggestions I've made a number of changes, adopting a more chronological approach and introducing detailed discussion of Said at a later stage, after the reader has a sense of the history of ideas and images to which he is responding. I've also tried to present a more balanced view of the traditions to which he is responding. Personally I think there is rather too much on Chinoiserie etc (especially as there is more here than in the "Chinoiserie" article itself, but I'll leave it for the moment for others to comment on/alter if they wish. Paul B 01:26, 31 Apr 2005 (UTC)

[edit] From "Oriental Studies" to "Asian Studies"

Sir Bernard Lewis's own department was renamed a decade before Said wrote [1], a detail which Said gets wrong.
This sentence seems to come out of nowhere, without explanation in this section. Who is Sir Bernard Lewis? what is his department? Who is Said? what did he write? what did he get wrong? why? and so what? --Yodakii 04:15, 1 September 2005 (UTC)

What an odd thing to say. "Said" is Edward Said, Lewis is Bernard Lewis. Click on the blue links to find out more about them. They engaged in a famously forthright debate on the history of Orientalism after Said published the book of that title - as the article says in the previous section. I don't think separate sections can be expected to stand alone, or there'd be a lot of repetition. Paul B 09:37, 1 September 2005 (UTC)

I know who they are. Previous sections mentioned them. But there is nothing about Lewis' department, and I have no idea what Said wrote about it, or what exactly he got wrong. --Yodakii 13:44, 1 September 2005 (UTC)

Sir Bernard Lewis taught at Princeton University, and is still affiliated there. Said got the name of the department wrong. Oriental Studies had been subdivided into East Asian and Middle Eastern Studies in 1969 (or 1968?; see external link) ten year before Said wrote: nevertheless Said makes great play of "Princeton's Oriental Studies Dept." as proof of continuing and present endemic "orientalism" in the US. I thought this was clear in the text and link; please clarify if you don't see it so. Septentrionalis 15:26, 1 September 2005 (UTC)

Ok. The link to the "Near Eastern Studies" article mentions Lewis joining Princeton, and that the Oriental Studies department was subdivided. Thats all. I can't find anywhere in the article explaining what Said had to say about it, no citation where he said it, when or why. And how is this detail significant to the section?
Also: why is the link in the middle of the sentence referred to as [1]? And why is it in the middle? shouldn't it be at the end of the preceding sentence?
Finally, doesn't anyone else think that sentence is grammatically weird? "It was renamed before he wrote, a detail which he gets wrong." huh?
Am I looking in the wrong place? Would anyone object if it was just removed? --Yodakii 16:24, 1 September 2005 (UTC)

The link (which may be superfluous) demonstrates the date of the renaming; and is attached to the clause asserting renaming. I do object to the sentence being removed, especially by someone who objects to its grammar while misquoting it; if it can be clarified by rephrasing, feel free. Said's remarks on the department are fairly early in Orientalism - anyone who feels that an exact citation of one of its several editions is useful should look it up. Septentrionalis 21:07, 1 September 2005 (UTC)

So you're saying that Said's remarks on the department can only be found in his book Orientalism? So someone who hasn't read the book, or doesn't have it on hand, will have no idea what that sentence means. If you had the background information, of course, it all seems clear to you, but I don't think most people who will read this article have that information. I think the only way this sentence can be clarified is by explaining where and when Said made his remark. But looking that up and expanding on this seems like too much trouble for a detail that seems to be too insignificant. --Yodakii 02:40, 2 September 2005 (UTC)

I think it's perfectly clear what the sentence means, however I've tweaked it in the hope that any remaining mists of mystery may be lifted. It appears in the context of a discussion of the naming of university departments, in particular - as the section heading makes clear - the move from "Oriental" to "Asian", so I think its clear that sentence refers to name-changes from the former to the latter. It's a pretty minor point, I grant, but relevant to the content of the section. Paul B 12:20, 2 September 2005 (UTC)

Thanks. It looks better now. Sorry for troubling you with that. --Yodakii 15:13, 2 September 2005 (UTC)

I also find this acceptable, although the link might be better in the middle. Septentrionalis 19:15, 4 September 2005 (UTC)
I've enjoyed how the article has developed - and this particular discussion has headed. I quite favour a Wikipedia style which engages rather than infuriates. Glad this section is 'cured', as it was veering into becoming an enclave for initiates of a language rather than educating us dilettantes. Sleevies

[edit] Subpage

Can we have Orientalist view of Islam as a subpage? Im going to do it, feel free to revert if you dont like it. --Striver 16:22, 2 December 2005 (UTC)

I'm not sure what you mean by a "subpage". It could either be a new section of this article, or a wholly separate page. If what you want to add will overweigh the text too much towards discussion of Islam, then perhaps a separate page would be the better option, with a few added sentences here and a link to the new page. Are you using the word "orientalism" simply to mean "western views" or are you using it in the newer Saidian sense of a specific kind of western "discourse" about Islmic culture? Paul B 16:27, 2 December 2005 (UTC)
The last line in the article that refers to 'Occidentalism' is good, and i feel it can be strenthened by also referring to the concept of Eurocentrism as a type of cultural relativism that denotes 'the Western bias in the East'. I am going to add a small change to the last sentence to expand this idea. If anyone objects, let me know. Peace! User talk:Drakonicon Drakonicon 20:41, 28 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Albert Camus

In Albert Camus' novel the stranger, can the depiction of "the arab", while giving everyone else names be an example of orientalism?

Seems to be, but the whole alienation theme Camus is exploring depends the initial racist viewpoint of the protagonist. "The arab" is a generalist term deliberately used to evoke, among other things, ire in the reader (well it irks me, lol!); but Camus could have used any other generalist term used by colonialist mindsets. Camus's interests in French colonial history in Northern African nations, makes me think he was extremely sensitive to racism in literature. So yes, Camus's "the arab" is form of Orientalism, but his use of the term needs qualification, because he was no simple 'Orientalist'. I hope this helps. Peace! User talk:Drakonicon Drakonicon 20:37, 28 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Occidentalism and Eurocentrism

I included the term Eurocentrism along with the term Occidentalism in a previous edit to indicate that the concept of Eurocentrism is very similar to the ideas of Orientalism, especially in relation to Edward Said's ideas. In Said's Culture and Imperialism he extend's on the ideas on 'Orientalism' as a postcolonial ideological coloniser, showing examples from 'European' and 'Orientalist' scholarly framworks, and how they implcitly interrupt the meaning-making and identity structures of any culture that an Empire enters into, to colonise, live in, work among... Eurocentrism is a far more complicated term, when used a postcolonial reference point, not simply negative or excessively positive viewpoint: Eurocentrism is BOTH negative and positive, according to whether you are looking at a culture from the position of the coloniser, or the colonised. I vote to place the word Eurocentrism back into the article, maybe with a some more qualifying statements, to bolster its relevance in this article. Drakonicon 22:51, 27 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Suggested reading

  • Wardi, Anissa. "Terrorists, Madmen and Religious Fanatics?: Revisiting Orientalism and Racist Rhetoric."
  • Nguyen, Bich Minh. "The Good Immigrant Student."
  • King, Robert D. "Should English be the Law?"
I removed these articles (?) from the main text. If anyone interested in keeping them, would you find where and when they were published?—Barbatus 02:17, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Orientalism

This criticism is based on the argument from consequences fallacy —Preceding unsigned comment added by AUSTRALIA Rules (talk • contribs)

???? What criticism? Paul B 10:36, 10 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Criticisms of Said

Hi all,

I think the segment on Criticisms is actually very shortened and even questionable in parts. It only gives a small number of critical points and is suggestive in a few instances. For example, stating that "In his ascerbic rebuttal of Lewis' critique, Said demonstrated how hard it was to debate with a scholar who rejected his opponents' intellectual credibility" is not neutral and sould be changed. In addition, it should be stated clearly that Lewis and Said had been fighting a trench war for 25 years ever since Said had criticized Lewis in "Orientalism" in 1978. Totally missing as yet are discussions of attempts by academics like Bhabha or Lowe to develop Said's theories further. I would like to propose that major themes of criticism should be bundled and discussed. I will attempt to contribute first pointers in the next few days, if that is okay with you.

Go ahead. Paul B 08:53, 29 November 2006 (UTC)
I find the section on Criticisms of Said hard to follow. The scholarly arguments start out weak: "Said ignores many genuine contributions to the study of Eastern cultures made by Westerners during the Enlightenment and Victorian eras." (Said's point would be that these 'contributions' are not disinterested or culturally/politically neutral, but serve an overarching purpose, so this assertion is quite unconvincing, not to say irrelevant.)
It then goes on to firmer ground ("He has been criticised for ignoring the contributions of Italian, Dutch, and particularly the massive contribution of German scholars"). This appears to be a major weakness of Said's critique and should be developed.
We are then treated to a brief view of mud-slinging between Said and Lewis, followed by what appears to be a smear campaign against Lewis ("proper knowledge of ... Lewis' own (often masked) neo-imperialist proclivities...Specifically, Lewis is aligned with prominent "think tanks" that promote "neoconservative" views on U.S. Middle East Policy....Pipes is the author of a website, campuswatch.org, which encourages students to report bias on the part of their professors." -- What has Pipes got to do with critiques of Said's Orientalism?)
If such personal attacks on Said's opponents are kosher, where do we stop? Said himself has been personally attacked on various counts. Should these attacks be included?
Couldn't this section be rewritten to provide a more coherent and convincing (and less personal) criticism of the basic theses of Orientalism?
Bathrobe 03:40, 12 June 2007 (UTC)
I've checked the articles on Edward Said and Orientalism (book). Both of these present far more coherent and convincing criticisms of Said's Orientalism than the piece of rubbish presented in this article. Since there is so much overlap, does anyone have any idea how they could be harmonised and coordinated?
Bathrobe 05:54, 12 June 2007 (UTC)
Spouting insults doesn't help anyone. No-one is stopping you trying to improve the section are they? Of course it's the result of additions multiple editors with competing agendas. I hadn't noticed the addition of the attempt to descredit Lewis. Paul B 09:40, 12 June 2007 (UTC)
The only thing that could be construed as an insult is 'piece of rubbish'. And I only used it after I read the very good contributions at the other entries, beside which the criticisms section at this entry does look like a 'piece of rubbish'. I don't think there's anything I could do that would be an improvement on those other articles. The nub of my suggestion is "does anyone have any idea how they could be harmonised and coordinated?" Perhaps this section could be deleted altogether and readers redirected to the other articles. It seems that the three articles on Orientalism, Orientalism (book), and Edward Said are trying to cover similar ground.
Bathrobe 09:54, 12 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Edward Said and "Orientalism"

"Despite this often mixed tradition, the word "Orientalism" carried no overt negative freight". Despite the later examples, this still seems like quite a strong and absolutist statement to make. Likewise with ""Oriental" was simply understood as the opposite of "occidental" ('western')." and the subsequent reference to the negative connotations only being formed "following the publication of the groundbreaking work Orientalism". Surely such claims should be in the 'criticisms of Said' section, as they clearly disagree with the opening statements of the article. Sithemadmonkey 01:53, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

I'm at a loss to see how they disagree with the opening statements, which are about post-Said attitudes to the word. Paul B 18:52, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] "Groundbreaking"?

Isn't this, what's they call it? ... POV? Curious. --Barbatus 17:59, 13 June 2007 (UTC)

Well, if no one will object, I'll remove "groundbreaking." --Barbatus 12:43, 19 June 2007 (UTC)
I don't see what's wrong with it. It's an influential work, so groundbreaking seems fairly NPOV. Paul B 12:53, 19 June 2007 (UTC)
Ifluential, yes (even if, in my opinion, for totally wrong reasons); but what's so "markedly innovative" (definition of "groundbreaking" in the Webster) about it? --Barbatus 03:06, 20 June 2007 (UTC)
I guess becuase it broke new ground - being a foundational work of so-called "post-colonial studies", with its characteristic theoretical language and political assumptions. The term is not an endorsement. It's possible to be both groundbreaking and totally wrong! Paul B 09:50, 20 June 2007 (UTC)
Indeed it is. Probably, as Inglese is not my native tongue, I read to much into this ground-thing. --Barbatus 12:18, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Orientalism in Religion?

I came to this page looking for a mention of Orientalism in religion and found ... nothing. Is there opposition to placing the idea on the page or has it simply been overlooked by previous writer-editors?

For clarity, i am referring here to 19th and early 20th century religious texts by European and American authors that make special (and often unsubstantiated and poorly reaseached and just plain fabricated) claims about Middle Eastern / Indian / Asian religions.

Examples: Hargrave Jennings ("The Results of the Mysterious Buddhism"), Charles F. Haanel (financial success promoter but also wrote a book on yoga), Aleister Crowley (book on yoga, book in I Ching, photo of himself posed as Hotei), William Walker Atkinson (wrote under at least three fake Indian pseudonyms (see article on Atkinson) and produced dozens of books on yoga, including a book allegedly by a "Swami" on "Mystical Christianity"), T. Lobsang Rampa (British plumber who wrote several books (fake) on Tibetan religion and also dressed up and posed as his own (fake) Chinese literary agent), Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (mediumistic communications with alleged Himalayan "masters"), Alice Bailey (mediumistic encounters with an alleged Tibetan "master" -- yet also wrote a proscription against Europeans marrying Chinese or Japanese people), Alexandra David-Neel (described Tibetan religion for Westerners), .

There are many more examples, but these come to mind off the top of my head.

What do y'all think? cat yronwode Catherineyronwode 01:57, 19 September 2007 (UTC)

I'm not sure that they really come into the category of Orientalism. Are you used the word to mean "sterotypes of Easternness"? That's not its literal meaning, of course. Western writers who studies Islam and Dharmic cultures are discussed in the article, but these writers are either rather fringy or extreme. Blavatsky and her follower are notable, but I've never seen them referred to as "Orientalists". Also this tradition can absorb - for example - Native Amercian spirituality (Carlos Castaneda) or alleged European "folk" traditions Charles Godfrey Leland, Gerald Gardner. It might be worth a mention that the notion of the "wise-and-mystic" East begins to develop in the late 19th century and has become a cliche by the time Lost Horizon is written. Paul B 08:49, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
I am referring to the concepts elucidated by Carl T. Jackson in his 1975 article The New Thought Movement and the Nineteenth Century Discovery of Oriental Philosophy (published in The Journal of Popular Culture Vol. 9, No. 3, pp 523–548). This predates Said's book (which contains concepts that, being as old as i am, i thought were pretty much "old hat" by the time that book was published).
I would like to correct two misimpressions you have:
First, the proponents of Orientalism in religion were not as "fringe" or "extreme" as you may think -- or, at least, they are no more "extreme" with respect to 19th and early 20th century religion than the Orientalist artists and writers were with respect to the general fields of art and literature.
Second, the phenomenon did not originate in the late 19th century, as you state, but had started in the 18th century, with French books like "The Secrets of the Sage of the Pyramids" -- an anonymous French acount of a trip to Egypt where a wise hermit propounds his magical wisdom. (This book is still in print and is available for free download as well.) Religious Orientalism reached full flower by the mid 19th century, and certainly prior to the emergence of Blavatsky. Paschal Beverly Randolph, who died in 1875, was using an Orientalist approach as early as the late 1850s, when he began to write about learning the secrets of sex-magic from a beautiful exotic woman on a trip to the Middle East ("The Anseiratic Mysteries"). (As an aside, one of the things that makes Randolph's Orientalism so interesting is that not only did he actually visit Syria and environs, he was an African American free man who claimed to have acquired religious, mystical, and sexual secrets from "the dusky races" of the Middle East.) See
  • Deveney, John Patrick and Franklin Rosemont (1996). Paschal Beverly Randolph: A Nineteenth-Century Black American Spiritualist, Rosicrucian, and Sex Magician. State University of New York Press. ISBN 0-7914-3120-7.
  • Godwin, Jocelyn, Christian Chanel, and John Patrick Deveney (1995). The Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor: Initiatic and Historical Documents of an Order of Practical Occultism. Samuel Weiser. ISBN 0-87728-825-9.
For some material that i have written on the general subject of Orientaism in religion at Wikipedia, please go to the article on William Walker Atkinson -- specially the long digressive portion (not about Atkinson) that is included in this subsection: [1].
What i would really like to do is to migrate that more general (non-Atkinson-specific) text over from the Atkinson page to the Orientalism page, in a sub-head on Orientalism in Religion, adding some prafacatory material on the 18th century writers, plus brief mention of Atkinson within the more general text of the sub-section.
Thanks for responding, and i hope you will now better understand the sources from which i am working, and the ideas that i am trying to convey.
cat yronwode Catherineyronwode 17:34, 20 September 2007 (UTC)
the pre-19th century writers are mainly working within models that privilege Egypt and emerge from Rosicricianism etc. That's very common in 18th century occultism. The central question here is whether Orientalism is the best label for this - the article can't cover everything and anything ever said about cultures to the east of Europe. Paul B 17:41, 20 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Split article?

The article begins

Orientalism is the study of Near and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, and peoples by Western scholars. It can also refer to the imitation or depiction of aspects of Eastern cultures in the West by writers, designers and artists.

- of which the first sentence is really not correct; an Orientalist does not study Orientalism. I think we should split the article into O-ism & Oriental Studies, at present a redirect here. Anyone agree? Johnbod (talk) 23:45, 17 December 2007 (UTC)

I don't understand your argument. Orientalism is Western study of the East (or "the Orient"), which is what the sentence says. It says nothing about Orientalism being the study of Orientalism. Paul B (talk) 11:06, 19 February 2008 (UTC)
Is "Orientalism is Western study of the East" true? Only in a very recherche way - see OED. Have there ever been Professors of Orientalism? Degrees in it? No. The correct term is "Oriental Studies", especially now that Said has essentially appropriated the word. Johnbod (talk) 12:06, 19 February 2008 (UTC)
This seems trivial and facile - Said is clearly speaking to present day practicioners of "Oriental Studies," and I think Orientalists like Bernard Lewis understood that clearly enough. At the very least Said considered "orientalism," however narrowly you wish to define it, to be a specific case of a larger issue of the West creating its object of study through the study of subjugated peoples. Plenty of people disagree with him but they all understand that the argument applies to people like Lewis and Patai, and can be extended even further. I share Paul B's incomprehension of Johnbod's remark. Slrubenstein | Talk 12:27, 19 February 2008 (UTC)
  • What is it with you people? I'll keep it very simple. This article is WP's only article on Oriental Studies, which redirects here. This is wrong. "Orientalism" is not now and never has been a standard term in English for "Oriental Studies", and should not be used as the article title for that subject under normal WP policy. There should be an article called "Oriental Studies", incorporating some of the material from here, and "Orientalism" should just cover the "Saidian" sense. Johnbod (talk) 12:35, 19 February 2008 (UTC)
Orientalism should not cover the Said stuff, which amounts to a POV fork as Said is critiquing Oriental Studies. Perhaps you want to suggest that this articel redirect to a main article on Oriental Studies, which would include a section on "history" covering 19th century orientalists, and a section on post-colonial critiques of oriental Studies, including Said? Slrubenstein | Talk 15:52, 19 February 2008 (UTC)
Glad to see we are on the same wavelength at last! (more or less; I do indeed "want to suggest" what I had just plainly stated). Said is critiquing a great deal more than just academic Oriental Studies, as the article rightly explains, and a seperate article is justified (in fact this article has very little on straight Oriental studies (which long predate the C19th btw) - only two sections really. This article could not honestly be renamed "Oriental Studies" at present, and as already explained, "Orientalism" is not an acceptable title for the article we need on the academic subject. So I see a split as inevitable. Actually I see we have a short article on Asian studies, the more usual name these days. The sections on the academic subject alone should be moved there (with some remaining here too) and the Oriental studies redirect should go there. Unless there are reasoned objections I will do this in a few days. Johnbod (talk) 17:07, 19 February 2008 (UTC)
To move the encyclopedia-building process forward, there should be a succinct summary of this article at Oriental studies with a hatnote directing here.--Wetman (talk) 19:21, 19 February 2008 (UTC)
Now, with an article Oriental studies to describe modern studies of all the Eastern cultures and peoples and their histories, and this article Orientalism to describe the historical fascination of the East for the West, often expressed in trivial ways, part of the history of ideas, editing can proceed on each subject without mutual interference. Someone needs to reduce material here that belongs in contemporary Oriental stuidies rather than here. And a hatnote main article... needs to be introduced at the appropriate place.--Wetman (talk) 19:47, 19 February 2008 (UTC)
As I see it the academic field of study should be at the new article Oriental studies you have set up, for the whole period - why break it, and when? Really I still think it should be at Asian studies, or maybe treated as the historiography offshoot of that - History of Oriental studies? This article should cover the wider issue of cultural attitudes, principally from the Early Modern period on, and their academic discussion with Said etc. Johnbod (talk) 01:03, 20 February 2008 (UTC)
Orientalism is a term that is used in two broad senses. In art/literature it is used to refer to depictions or engagements with the East. In scholarship it is used in several related ways. Writers were referred to as Orientalists if they were specialists in Oriental cultures. This usage is still very common in the UK and France for example. See the National Council on Orientalist Library Resources [2]. Some writers like Trautmann use the word to refer to 19th C scholars who were sympathetic specialists in Eastern studies, as opposed to those who believed in either a generic 'progress' or a 'Christian' truth which overode cultural differences. It is very common to use Orientalist in this way - meaning a Western specialist in or aficianado of Eastern cultures. I see no reason why there should not be a separate article on modern 'Eastern studies', or 'Asian studies', or whatever term may be used in different contexts, but I don't think it's true to assert that "Oriental Studies" was always the "correct" term. Paul B (talk) 01:25, 20 February 2008 (UTC)
This is where I came in! "Orientalist! is the standard (older) English term for a scholar of "Oriental Studies", but "Orientalism" is not in English (unlike, I think, in French) a standard English term for what Orientalists study. Point me to any English-speaking University "Department of Orientalism", now or in the past. Johnbod (talk) 01:57, 20 February 2008 (UTC)
We are going in circles. Some universities have departments of Political Science; some have departments of Government. We should not have two articles; these are merely two ways of referring to the same thing. In the case of Orientalism and Oriental Studies, one term was more wideley used in the past, another in the present; one term refers to a broader set of studies, the other to a specific institutionalized form of the study. The point is, they are too closely related to separate. I frankly do not care what the article is called and am happy for you and Paul B to gradually work towards a compromise, but that will not happen if both of you are intransigent. What I do care about is (1) that we not have two articles on two terms that for the most part refer to the same thing and (2) that whatever the article is called in be organized so as to include what would be the contents of the other article. Johnbod's comment may be accurate, for example, but it is unconstructive. I do not see that it matters that there are no departments of orientalism. So what? I can easily imagine an article called "Orientalism" that says in the introduction that in Academe, orientalism is generally pursued through departments (or schools or institutes - my goodness, I hope this doesn't mean three more articles!) of Oriental Studies, and then a section on Departments of Oriental Studies and current academic practice. I am not saying this is the best compromise solution, I am merely saying it is an entirely reasonable one that accommodates Hohnbod'spoint without changing the title. Folks, you will actually reach a satisfying compromise if you open your minds a little bit, use your imagination and try to come up with more than two choices, try to come up with four, five, six ways you can imagine dealing with the facts you have collectively pointed out ... then you can start zeroing in on the best solution for Wikipedia rather than repeating positions you have already asserted. Slrubenstein | Talk 04:08, 20 February 2008 (UTC)
I think you are the one going round in circles; I am quite satisfied with the direction matters are taking. There is an academic field of study - we now, thanks to Wetman, have an article on that called Oriental studies (to which I have been adding on the early history which was ignored in this article). There are, in 2008, two normal meanings of the term "Orientalism", which are both covered in the present article, along with the sections on Oriental studies. Both meanings involve academic Oriental studies, but extend beyond them into other areas of culture. There is far more to Oriental studies than the Said-type controversies, which trouble Assyriology very little. There is no point in combining an article on a very wide field of academic study with one on a particular controversy, and a historic tendency, within it. It just makes no sense. You are in any case wrong to imply that "Orientalism" was ever widely used in English to mean the academic discipline; it was not. The OED cites only one usage of it in this way, from Lord Byron in 1812; presumably a leakage from the French usage. Johnbod (talk) 04:23, 20 February 2008 (UTC)