Essay about Orientalism

Upon entering the class I was anxious, curious, and also oblivious to the ideas I would be encountering. Like other students who had not previously spent time discussing topics of race and ethnicity, I myself had nervous tendencies in assuming that such a class may not strengthen my understanding of ethnic and race relations. I realized I knew little about race or ethnicity, and even the possible similarities or differences. However, I welcomed the opportunity to further discover the possibilities of the class. My understanding of race was concentrated in a definition that could be understood as different skin colors. My limited conception of ethnicity applied to people’s origin or where they lived. It seemed as though my lack of

Anthropologists have always had their discrepancies with the word culture and its background significance. There have been numerous definitions that have filtered through the field, yet not one that everyone can accept or agree with. Franz Boas, an anthropologist in the early 20th Century, and his students, had a difficult time figuring out the objective of what culture is. Culture is about learning and shared ideas about behaviour. Although Boas and his students had a slightly different idea in mind. They ultimately reached a conclusion, a definition of culture in their view that is a contradiction in terms. Boas sates that, “ culture was expressed through the medium of language but was not reducible to it;

Imperialism has been one of the most powerful forces in human history, serving to set the foundation of our modern world. While this has led to the formation of a global society where cultures, ideas, and innovations are spread across countries, imperialism has also left a history of exploitation, racism, and violence that is still affecting the world today. Imperial relationships are always imbalanced when it comes to power and influence; that is, one group (known as the metropole) maintains authority and control over another group (known as the periphery) with economic, political, and cultural dominance (Spiegel 2012). There are many reasons why one group chooses to dominate the other, such as expanding territory, extracting raw resources to fuel economic development, or to spread their beliefs (i.e. religion) (Spiegel 2012). In spite of these varied reasons, one of the main motivators for imperialism began with competition between empires.

Race and ethnicity is something that we all have to live with because we all have a race and ethnicity that claims us. Race and ethnicity was something discussed daily at my household because I was the only Hispanic at my school until the third grade. This was difficult because as a child it’s hard to understand why my skin color, language, and ideals are different. I wouldn’t have survived school without my parents and support from my instructors that allowed me to transition into the mainstream without a traumatic effect. Throughout the year my parents would take me to activities like Cinco De Mayo, Religious activities, Independence of Mexico, and other cultural events that celebrated our history and culture. This helped feed my love for my culture and ancestors. Race is usually determined by how one looks but your

Although Said didn’t directly look into gender orientalism he had made a great point in his article when discussing how the West view woman in an Oriental society. “[…] she never spoke of herself, and she never represented her emotions, presence or history. He spoke for and represented her. He was foreign, comparatively wealthy, male […]” (Said, Page 6). In this part Said is discussing how Western men would

Imperialism itself, although is sometimes meant to educate, is ultimately formed by an empire’s selfish desire to rule land. This is evident in the New Manifest destiny, carried out by the U.S, the British empire’s rule on several countries, as well as the Britain’s colonization of Africa many years ago that still takes a toll on them today. Although, in some cases imperialism is meant to educate instead of take-over. But, most countries who showed forms of imperialism had economic and strategic interests.

As the immigrant population currently projected to overtake latinxs and hispanics as largest group of residents in the United States of America, Asian Americans have shown their will to survive in a way that many groups have not, and that is by banding together in order to achieve the life they deserve. Taking the overgeneralization of pan-ethnicity and using it as a device for increased numbers and support for the causes of a group of people who otherwise may not have much to do with each other, is a testament to how vulnerable they must have felt as well as how successful they have managed to be many aspects of progress. What I have gained from this course is the understanding that at the root of ethnic studies and the Asian American community is the “for us, by us” sentiment that contributed to the blurred lines between the different part of their communities as social, political and cultural, structures, collectives and groups which came out of an obligation and necessity to protect those immigrants and their future generations from a country which has always pushed European superiority in all aspects of society.

Orientalism, as termed by Edward Said, is meant to create awareness of a constellation of assumptions that underlie Western attitudes towards the Eastern societies. While some of these opinions show the cultures in a positive light, the majority of them are biased and emphasise on depicting negative aspects as perceived by strangers to the Eastern culture.

Stuart Hall’s work introduces readers to the discourse of “the West and the Rest”, and outlines how the “system of representation” it provides serves to validate the power of the Western world (186). He highlights how the dissemination of discourse about Western superiority and the comparative “otherness” of the non-Western world work to maintain power hierarchies. Hall pinpoints several historical events, from the Crusades to colonisation, as instrumental in forming a Western identity through opposition to “the

The school atmosphere was different I was hanging with Caucasian girls and the African American children did not understand what I was doing being so close to children opposite of my own culture. At that point, I was unsure of what their problem was but realized they were sheltered from other cultures and raised differently. This caused several fights as a child because other children would call me a “little white girl” and I had no idea of what that meant and was offended. I was raised around majority boys in the neighborhood, until I started playing softball, some would consider me as a tomboy. So

The Orient refers to the space occupied by the Middle East and Northern Africa which exists in connection and opposition to the Occident--Europe (Said 5). It exists in Western eyes as the prime subject of domination and control (Said 3) as "the Oriental" is viewed as less-than-human, purely for study and academia (Said 27); it is he who is also "gullible", lazy and unmotivated, and lacks European morals such as compassion for animal welfare (Said 38). It is the "bad" Orient and must be corrected and taught proper morals (Said 99). Its women are submissive and to be spoken for by the Orientalist foreigner (Said 6), who visits not to learn about or appreciate culture but to be spectator and to gaze upon what he sees as "exotic" (Said 21), she has no temperament or lived experience beyond what is assigned to her by this outsider (Said 6). The Orient is not a real place

Famous orientalist, Edward Said, explained in his book ‘Orientalism’ that through European colonization, the Europeans established orientalism, the study of Orientals, as a way to define themselves as the superior race compared to Orientals and justify their colonization. As the study of Orientals expanded, Westerners generalized attributes of Easterners and started forming their own knowledge about Easterners. Hence, Orientalism can now be defined as Western stereotypes about Eastern people.

Orientalism is a study of language and traditions of the people and their culture in the Middle East. These studies are mostly done by people outside of the culture that is being looked at, and mostly the studies are being performed by white western men. Edward Said believed that there was a problem with the way in which other people were studying and writing about his culture. He was upset and spoke up when he wrote a booked called “Orientalism,” in his book he points out many reasons why the study of orientalism is hurting the cultures in which they are studying. The study of other cultures and countries better known as the Orient has become a popular discussion since Said’s book on orientalism was published. This paper will take a look

Occidentalism, as a concept, remains debated amongst scholars to this day. While the essential components have a modicum of consensus, the finer points remain vague, and its prevalence amongst intellectuals in Oriental societies varies dramatically. At the most basic level, Occidentalism is the mirror image of Orientalism. Just as Orientalism consists of an abstract, disconnected rendering of “Oriental” societies within the mentality of Orientalists, Occidentalism provides a similarly essentialist perception of the West, or “Occident”. The Occident is perceived as a monolithic entity, diametrically opposed to the Orient on a cultural level. Occidentalism as practiced by Oriental scholars traces its intellectual roots to traditional European Orientalism, and retains the very same fallacies that have recently become so reviled amongst Western academics in regard to Orientalism.

Occidentalism, as a concept, remains debated amongst scholars to this day. While the essential components have a modicum of consensus, the finer points remain vague, and its prevalence amongst intellectuals in Oriental societies varies dramatically. At the most basic level, Occidentalism is the mirror image of Orientalism. Just as Orientalism consists of an abstract, disconnected rendering of “Oriental” societies within the mentality of Orientalists, Occidentalism provides a similarly essentialist perception of the West, or “Occident”. The Occident is perceived as a monolithic entity, diametrically opposed to the Orient on a cultural level. Occidentalism as practiced by Oriental scholars traces its intellectual roots to traditional European Orientalism, and retains the very same fallacies that have recently become so reviled amongst Western academics in regard to Orientalism.