M HKA Ensembles

Book, 24 x 16.2 x 3.7 cm.

Collection: Collection MHKA, Antwerp.

Edward Said (1935-2003) was not only a literary scholar, but also an outspoken activist for the Palestinian cause. The central argument in Orientalism, his most important book, is that ‘orientalism’ present in disciplines such as history, anthropology and linguistics enables 'the West' to steer and dominate 'the East' politically, sociologically, scientifically and culturally. Western writers and academics create the representation of the Orient, starting from a series of contradictions: Western rationality vs. Eastern irrationality, Western productivity vs. Eastern laziness, Western self-control vs. Eastern impulsivity. Said characterises this representation of 'the oriental' as extremely racist. According to Said, orientalism is in no way objective or scientific, but is part and parcel of the might, imperialism and colonial rule of the great European powers, and later the United States of America. Based on Michel Foucault's concept of 'discourse' and Antonio Gramsci's 'cultural hegemony', Said emphasises the intimate and often problematic relationship between the producer of culture and their object of research. The tension between ruler and ruled, the self and 'the Other' and the fallacy that Said detects in approaching any culture as a homogeneous, unchanging monoculture, still play an influential role in postcolonial thinking today.

“Perhaps the most important task of all would be to undertake studies in contemporary alternatives to Orientalism, to ask how one can study other cultures and peoples from a libertarian, or a nonrepressive and nonmanipulative, perspective. But then one would have to rethink the whole complex problem of knowledge and power.”