Orientalism

According to Said, what comprises the figure of the “Oriental” in the Orientalist imagination? What are the Oriental’s recurring features throughout history?

Said asserts that the scope of Orientalism is broad, which is why Western scholarship has devoted much energy throughout history to contain it through formalized study. Discuss how Said’s methodology for critiquing Orientalism in his book considers its broad scope. How does he frame and organize the idea of Orientalism in this work?

Said argues that the notion “that Orientalism makes sense at all depends more on the West than on the Orient” (21) and constitutes a relationship where the West is dependent on the Orient. Name several textual examples that Said examines in Orientalism that reflect this dependency of the West on the Orient. How does this dependency affect each of these works?

Describe the steps outlined by Said as to how Western cultural production leads to the creation of public policy over the Orient.

What are the main differences between British, French, and US Orientalism? Why is important for Said to distinguish Orientalist practices between these three Western powers?

Of the Orientalist texts that Said examines, he notes a spectrum of hostile to sympathetic attitudes toward the Orient. What is his view of this range of attitudes? What are the effects of these various attitudes on the creation of public policy?

Said describes the relationship between the West and the Orient as a “one-way exchange” (160), in which the former always benefits; the West is an active agent, and the Orient is passive. Is this a consistent description in each of the textual examples Said uses throughout the book? Are there some texts and discussions that belie a different type of relationship?

From antiquity to the present, Orientalism has evolved from its conservative origins to a liberal project. According to Said, what factors accounted for this transition? Did Orientalist values remain the same or change?