Providing an overview of western attitudes towards the East, this book sets out to challenge established western views of the Orient and of the Arab and Islamic world.
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About the Author
EDWARD W. SAID is University Professor at Columbia University. He was born in Jerusalem in 1935 and educated in Egypt and the United States. His other books include THE QUESTION OF PALESTINE, CULTURE AND IMPERIALISM, OUT OF PLACE: A MEMOIR.
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First Sentence
On June 13, 1910, Arthur James Balfour lectured the House of Commons on "the problems with which we have to deal in Egypt." Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
On June 13, 1910, Arthur James Balfour lectured the House of Commons on "the problems with which we have to deal in Egypt." Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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23 of 26 people found the following review helpful
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If you are hesitating between 'Orientalism' and 'Culture and Empire', 'Orientalism' is probably the book to get. It was Saïd's first and original contribution, and it is about culture, his field, more than about history, in which he was not a specialist.
Saïd argues that Orientalism paved the ground for, and was later sustained by, colonialism in that it created fixed categories by which the Orient became known to Europeans. These stereotyped views emphasizing, say, fatalism, superstition, or a lack of a conception of liberty, predisposed Europeans to rule over the peoples they classified as Oriental. Saïd's point is that Orientalism owed more to textual analysis than to actual conditions in the East, enabling Europeans to project their own fantasies, wishes, and prejudices onto Orientals. History and archaeology, for example, interpreting the Orient through its classical cultures (ancient Egypt, Sanskrit, Sufi poetry, etc..), supported perceptions of Orientals as impervious to progress and at the same time of civilisations in decline and therefore in need of regeneration through European power. While some of Saïd's references are obscure, especially of some twentieth-century Orientalists, many draw from mainstream literature (Dante, Flaubert, Lane) or immediately graspable travel, historical, and political works. Most are entertaining and thought-provoking, sometimes hilarious, and Saïd's exegesis is consistently witty and incisive.
Saïd's is no doubt a partial view, and it has been criticized as well as emulated. But the author himself makes no total claim on his sources, many of which he professes to admire. This is a book about culture, not history: it brings to light a certain undercurrent in a body of work and literature, it does not aim to explain colonialism.... Read more ›
Saïd argues that Orientalism paved the ground for, and was later sustained by, colonialism in that it created fixed categories by which the Orient became known to Europeans. These stereotyped views emphasizing, say, fatalism, superstition, or a lack of a conception of liberty, predisposed Europeans to rule over the peoples they classified as Oriental. Saïd's point is that Orientalism owed more to textual analysis than to actual conditions in the East, enabling Europeans to project their own fantasies, wishes, and prejudices onto Orientals. History and archaeology, for example, interpreting the Orient through its classical cultures (ancient Egypt, Sanskrit, Sufi poetry, etc..), supported perceptions of Orientals as impervious to progress and at the same time of civilisations in decline and therefore in need of regeneration through European power. While some of Saïd's references are obscure, especially of some twentieth-century Orientalists, many draw from mainstream literature (Dante, Flaubert, Lane) or immediately graspable travel, historical, and political works. Most are entertaining and thought-provoking, sometimes hilarious, and Saïd's exegesis is consistently witty and incisive.
Saïd's is no doubt a partial view, and it has been criticized as well as emulated. But the author himself makes no total claim on his sources, many of which he professes to admire. This is a book about culture, not history: it brings to light a certain undercurrent in a body of work and literature, it does not aim to explain colonialism.... Read more ›
71 of 88 people found the following review helpful
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Format:Paperback
Few works are more deserving of the 'Modern Classic' label that Penguin has given this book. Perhaps it is only after nearly twenty year since its first publication that we are able to appreciate the prophetic and uniquely influential nature of Said's insights into the roots of the 'West's' antagonism towards the 'Orient'. For what is, in effect, little more than a book of literary criticism, the ramifications for all areas of scholarly research and investigation are remarkable. On a personal level it is a book that has profoundly affected both my political and academic outlook and forced a re-evaluation of my attitudes (and not just towards the Middle-East) and, more significantly, the underlying deceits or conspiracies of history on which they are founded. I urge every person in a position of power to study this canonical work. That it is hard reading does not detract from but adds to the power of the work; at every moment Said's intimidating (but inspiringly humanistic and humane) scholarship is in evidence and one can only marvel at his analytical dexterity. Those who see the book as repetative and hypocritically reductive have failed to grasp the true substance which is in the criticism and not primarily in the conclusions which are, for the most part, self-evident, as Said himself declares from the outset.
There will, I am sure, continue be numerous wilful misreadings of 'Orientalism' and that it continues to provoke such controversy is a testament to its brilliance. Ignore them and read it.
There will, I am sure, continue be numerous wilful misreadings of 'Orientalism' and that it continues to provoke such controversy is a testament to its brilliance. Ignore them and read it.
Format:Paperback
The Orient. Exotic, mysterious, ancient, savage. These descriptions of the orient are extant in our popular culture. According to Edward Said, they do not necessarily describe the orient as it really is. Instead, these descriptions are the products of a socially-constructed Western project, Orientalism, that described, catalogued, studied and representated the orient in the Western mind. Perhaps, most intriguingly, Orientalism served the colonial and power interests of the Western powers. Yet, the protagonists in the project, mostly Western academics, have been unreflective about the role that they play in the West's subjugation and domination of the Orient.
But what is the Orient? How can heterogenous, dynamic societies such as India, China and the societies of the Middle East be reduced to essentialist categories? Said's book focuses on the near and Middle East and how this region of the world - with its diverse people and religion - have been represented since the Napoleonic invasion of Egypt. And the picture is not pretty. On page after page, Said demonstrates - with sublime rhetorical flourish - how academic study of the Near East was wedded to the political and social structures of nineteenth century Europe.
Said clearly respects the deep scholarship of Lane, Burton and Gustav Flaubert. Yet, he shows that these men - and they are mostly men - created an Orient to serve the colonial ambitions of their societies. Fast forward one hundred years. The Near East is still being studied and packaged for consumption by this same baronly class. Only this time, the words Islam, Arab, terror, and fatalism are used synomymously.
Said deeply critiques the orientalist project. He calls for self-reflection in the academy about the role that it plays in the service of power.... Read more ›
But what is the Orient? How can heterogenous, dynamic societies such as India, China and the societies of the Middle East be reduced to essentialist categories? Said's book focuses on the near and Middle East and how this region of the world - with its diverse people and religion - have been represented since the Napoleonic invasion of Egypt. And the picture is not pretty. On page after page, Said demonstrates - with sublime rhetorical flourish - how academic study of the Near East was wedded to the political and social structures of nineteenth century Europe.
Said clearly respects the deep scholarship of Lane, Burton and Gustav Flaubert. Yet, he shows that these men - and they are mostly men - created an Orient to serve the colonial ambitions of their societies. Fast forward one hundred years. The Near East is still being studied and packaged for consumption by this same baronly class. Only this time, the words Islam, Arab, terror, and fatalism are used synomymously.
Said deeply critiques the orientalist project. He calls for self-reflection in the academy about the role that it plays in the service of power.... Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
One of the founding texts of `post-colonialist' theory
First published in 1978, Said's text is a sustained and sometimes controversial expression of the way in which the `Orient' has been put to work as a cultural term not so much... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Roman Clodia
4.0 out of 5 stars
Without doubt an important read but....
....as several reviewers point out there are gaps, one being feminism one which Reine Lewis attempts to address, as does Spivak and others!!!!! Read more
Published 19 months ago by Bobby Moon
5.0 out of 5 stars
Orientalism
This is an absolute must in any colonial and postcolonial literature student's library, as well as anyone who's remotely interested in cultural, psychological and literary studies. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Crushed~Pink~Silk
1.0 out of 5 stars
Ordered Book Not Received
The ordered book "Orientalism" by Edward W Said was shipped on March 07 (from World of Books LTD) but has not yet arrived. Today' s date is May 7. I live in Israel. Read more
Published on 7 May 2011 by Reuven Berman Kadim
4.0 out of 5 stars
"bridging the chasm"
Edward Said provides a concise justification for writing this large and complex book - and equally suggests a convincing reason for reading it - in his Afterword: "Orientalism is a... Read more
Published on 30 Jan 2011 by snailman 21
4.0 out of 5 stars
A comment on this particular edition
The status of Orientalism as a Modern Classic is not in doubt: it is a stunning work and one of the most important books of the twentieth century. Read more
Published on 4 Dec 2010 by harhol
1.0 out of 5 stars
Patient zero for the collapse of rigour in Middle East Studies
Firstly, one needs to say this about Said - he a great wordsmith. He has a fantastic command of the english language and whatever you may think of him - and i am clearly not a fan... Read more
Published on 1 Jun 2010 by Danny of Arabia
5.0 out of 5 stars
A masterpiece
This book is not about blaming the west for what is going on in the world or it is not about the Israeli Palestian conflict. Read more
Published on 8 Dec 2009 by Ozgur Polat
5.0 out of 5 stars
Few books are as vital as this one for understanding politics today.
I don't think that there is a lot to add to the reviews which praise this book.
How 'The West' sees others, especially Islam and Muslims, is so central to current world... Read more
How 'The West' sees others, especially Islam and Muslims, is so central to current world... Read more
Published on 27 April 2009 by Germinal
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolute classic
Read to get an in depth idea of why we are where we are in the "Middle East"
Published on 6 April 2009 by M. S. Kennedy
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