HIS 2160 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Edward Said, Geopolitics, European Colonialism

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: History
• Course: HIS 2160
• Professor: Ryme Seferdjeli

Document Summary

Conceptualized by edward said in his book orientalism. Focused on the comparative relationship between the west and the east. Refocused and restructured the entire field of middle-eastern studies. Born palestinian, spent most of adult life in american academia. Critical of western perception of islam and the simplification of the isreali-palestine conflict. Studied western discourse, academic or otherwise, on the orient and islam. Prior to said orientalism defined all studies and fields relating to the east, language, culture, scholarly ideas. Considered a relatively neutral term, simply referred to eastern regions. Artists, scholars, translators, explorers in the 19th century with experience traveling in the east. Considered the foremost authority of life in the orient by western scholars and politicians. Despite their alleged authority, often reinforced existing western ideas of the east, intentionally or otherwise through art, journals, reports. Prior to said"s work, the orie(cid:374)t is a (cid:373)(cid:455)sterious, u(cid:374)k(cid:374)o(cid:449)(cid:374) (cid:858)other(cid:859), see(cid:374) as a (cid:272)ohesi(cid:448)e (cid:449)hole rather tha(cid:374) spreading across hundreds of cultures.