Orientalism

Garage has published a new translation of Edward W. Said’s classic work Orientalism. The book explores the genealogy of European thought on “the Orient,” the functioning of this abstract concept and its relationship with reality. Offering a detailed analysis of the possible roots of orientalism, Said brings up the problem of “the canon.” However, his main focus is on the complex interrelationship between three structures—power, academic knowledge, and art—within the thought and actions of twentieth-century politicians, scientists, and authors. Said shows how intertextual interactions have created an idea (“Platonic essence”) of “the Orient”—an image that solidified over time in opposition to “us” (Europeans). This opposition was connected to the reality of colonization and the need to speak “on behalf” of colonized peoples, formulating the rules of the game from the standpoint of the metropole and its representatives. The resulting ideas were reflected in reality: in wars, colonial conquests, the activities of colonial administrations, and later in major strategic projects, such as the construction of the Suez Canal. Said also connects them to the realities of his own time, such as American policies in the Middle East. Orientalism laid the foundation for a review of the Western approach to the history, culture, and art of Asian and African countries, a reassessment of the knowledge that existed, and the emergence of new fields of academic analysis.