The Sociology Book

81

A memorial to victims of the

bombing in Oklahoma in 1995. The

attack was first blamed by media on

“Muslims“ and “Arabs” (the Other), but

was the work of a white American.

See also: Michel Foucault 52–55 ■ W.E.B. Du Bois 68–73 ■ Paul Gilroy 75 ■ Elijah Anderson 82–83 ■ Stuart Hall 200–01 ■
Benedict Anderson 202–03 ■ Stanley Cohen 290

SOCIAL INEQUALITIES

Said explains that the idea of
modern Orientalism arose when
a French army led by Napoleon
Bonaparte conquered Egypt in

1798. This conquest was significant
      because Napoleon took with him
      not only soldiers, but also scientists,
      philologists, and historians. These
      experts were given the job of
      recording and categorizing what
      they saw. In describing their
      experience of “the Orient” as
      objective knowledge, their words
      gained an unquestionable authority
      and influence in Europe.

Categorizing the East
However, as Said suggests, they
were looking at the peoples around
them through the lens of imperialist
conquest. They saw themselves as
the superior power and therefore
as superior people. They drew an
imaginary line between Us and
Them, West and East, and began
to define both sides in opposition
to one another. Where the peoples
of the East were perceived as
irrational, uncivilized, lazy, and
backward, those of the West were

rational, civilized, hardworking, and

progressive. The reports sent back

to Europe by Napoleon’s “experts”

meant that the East was presented

to Europeans in a highly packaged

way; the East was explained by the

West, and in the process molded

to suit the Europeans. This idea

of what “Orientals” were like was

appropriated and disseminated

widely by literary figures such as

Lord Byron, who romanticized the

Orient but continued to emphasize

its inalienable difference.

Perpetuating fear

The problem continues, Said says,

because the idea of the Orient has

prevented people in the West from

being able to view the East in all its

complexity. The same repertory

of images keeps arising: the Orient

is seen as a place of mythical

exoticism—it is the home of the

Sphinx, Cleopatra, Eden, Troy,

Sodom and Gomorrah, Sheba,

Babylon, and Muhammad.

Orientalism is a framework used

to understand the unfamiliar, says

Said, but at the same time it tells

us that the peoples of the East are

different and frightening. In this

context, “the Arab” is viewed as a

violent fanatic, and Western nations

feel the need to protect themselves

from “the infiltration of the Other.”

The challenge, he says, is to find a

way of coexisting peacefully. ■

Edward Said Cultural theorist and literary critic

Edward Said was the founder of

postcolonial studies. Born in West

Jerusalem during the British

Mandate in Palestine, his father

was a wealthy Palestinian-

American of Christian faith, and

Said went to private international

schools in Lebanon, Egypt,

and the US. He later studied

at Princeton and Harvard before

becoming a professor of English

Literature at Columbia University,

where he taught until his death

in 2003. Said wrote prolifically on

a wide range of topics, including

music and Palestinian issues.

Said stated that he was

politicized by the Six-Day War

of 1967 between Israel and its

Arab neighbors, after which he

became an important voice for

the Palestinian cause, especially

in the US. In 1999 he founded

an Arab-Israeli orchestra with

the conductor Daniel Barenboim,

in the belief that music

transcends politics.

Key works

1978 Orientalism

1979 The Question of Palestine

1993 Culture and Imperialism