Essay on Introduction to Orientalism by Edward Said

In his introduction to the term â€Å"Orientalism,† Edward Said begins by paraphrasing the writing of a French journalist’s view of the present-day Orient in order to express the major common Western misconception about the East. This misconception exists in the Western mind, according to Said, as if it were irrelevant that the Orient itself was actually sociologically affected. He then goes on to describe the basis of Orientalism, as it is rooted in the Western consciousness. Said uses the phrase â€Å"The Other† to describe the Western fascination with the Orient. This is a reference to Jacques Lacan’s terminology, which describes the mirror stage of development. This is the stage in growth during which children supposedly learn their own†¦show more content†¦The second definition draws attention to this distinction and clarifies Orientalism, while also extending its breadth to all that is not considered West (The Middle East, India, Russia, etc.). Said notes that there has been a fair amount of interchange over the last few centuries over these two theoretical fields of coming to terms with the Orient. Said then proposes a third definition of Orientalism, using an analysis substantially more applicable in the historical context. Orientalism as the corporate institution for dealing with the Orient, as the Western authority has done. He professes to be motivated here by Foucault’s notion of a discourse. Michel Foucault’s theories that have come to bear on this discussion are his ideas of the critical relationship under which the ontology of subject and object come to be known and how these associations may come to constitute knowledge. According to Foucault, the problem is not isolating any empirical conditions that may bring about this subjectivity, but to determine what the subject is and to what conditions it is subject. Said’s application of this theory fits his third definition well, and provides a strong platform for the rest of his argument. The Orient has, for much of history, been the active object to the European missionary and scientist positions.1 He then listsShow MoreRelatedEssay Orientalism865 Words   |  4 PagesOrient. Edward Said’s â€Å"Introduction† to Orientalism aids readers in understanding the basis for Rhonda Vander Sluis’s companions – prejudice and stereotype – in her search for identity in Turkey. More than anything else, in his â€Å"Introduction† to Orientalism Edward Said attempts to educate his readers about the flaws he sees in the European notion of Orientalism. He identifies generalization as the root cause of differences and misunderstanding between Europe and the Orient. As Said sees itRead MoreButterfly : A Romantic Drama Directed By David Cronenberg1515 Words   |  7 PagesSong is a Communist agent that disguised by a male. 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