SUMMARY REVIEW OF EDWARD SAID’S ORIENTALISM

Orientalism, or as put by Said; the difference between east and west; is a tri chapter work of what Edward Said concludes, should not have been done in the first place regarding the classification of peoples between the so called civilised west to the uncivilised east. This has greatly contributed to the bias and propaganda that still exists to this day.  
 

In the first chapter, he writes how the world was divided between the east and west. The orients were regarded as sub-human, uncivilised, incapable of running their own affairs, hence needed the intervention of the civilised west. And because they (orients) were incapable, the west could, without their knowledge, represent them. Everything was studied and interpreted according to the interpretation of the west. European generally defined themselves by defining the orient.

The second chapter writes the orients’ land and behavior being highly romanticized as the east being exotic and pure. It was in the easts’ purity that defined their inferiority to the west, particularly Europeans.   Europeans were biologically superior.

In the third chapter, the quest for geographical knowledge of the world gave fuel or prominence to the basis of orientalism. There was this comparison between the early orients and the new orients who were more involved or had a more ‘hands on’ approach in the study of the uncivilised east. The reason behind such an approach was not to understand the orient, but to know how to rule over them.

The roots of generalisations and prejudice on certain race and religions have been fueled by this very concept. The religion of Islam has suffered greatly the most from this contemptuous ideology. 

And western prejudice against the eastern countries continues to fuel propaganda even on mainstream (media, education, politics, economics, etc.). Said’s insight is a revelation of what is normally downplayed to conspiracy theory. Disciplines like anthropology and sociology need to tread carefully when it comes to study of people and societies outside Europe.