Page 216 - DENG501_LITERARY_CRITICISM_AND_THEORIES

Literary Criticism and Theories

Notes "Orientalism" is widely used in art, to refer to the works of the many Western 19th century artists,
who specialized in "Oriental" subjects, often drawing on their travels to Western Asia. Artists as
well as scholars were already described as "Orientalists" in the 19th century, especially in France,
where the term, with a rather dismissive sense, was largely popularized by the critic Jules-Antoine
Castagnary. Such disdain did not prevent the Societé des Peintres Orientalistes ("Society of
Orientalist Painters") being founded in 1893, with Jean-Léon Gérôme as honorary president; the
word was less often used as a term for artists in 19th century England.
Since the 18th century, "Orientalist" has been the traditional term for a scholar of Oriental studies;
however the use in English of "Orientalism" to describe the academic subject of "Oriental studies"
is rare; the Oxford English Dictionary cites only one such usage, by Lord Byron in 1812. The
academic discipline of Oriental studies is now more often called Asian studies. In 1978, the
Palestinian-American scholar Edward Said published his influential and controversial book,
Orientalism, which "would forever redefine" the word; he used the term to describe a pervasive
Western tradition, both academic and artistic, of prejudiced outsider interpretations of the East,
shaped by the attitudes of European imperialism in the 18th and 19th centuries. Said was critical
of both this scholarly tradition and of some modern scholars, particularly Bernard Lewis. Said was
mainly concerned with literature in the widest sense, especially French literature, and did not
cover visual art and Orientalist painting, though others, notably Linda Nochlin, have tried to
extend his analysis to art, "with uneven results". Said's work has given rise to a new discipline
called Postcolonialism or Postcolonial studies.
Like the term Orient itself Orientalism derives from a Latin word Oriens referring simply to the
rising of the sun, to imply "the East" in a relative sense. This is the opposite of the term Occident,
which has largely dropped from common usage. Similar terms are the French-derived Levant and
Anatolia, from the Greek anatole, two further locutions for the direction in which the sun rises. In
terms of The Old World, Europe was considered to be 'The West' or Occidental, and the furthest
known Eastern extremity 'The East' or 'The Orient'.
From at least the time of the Roman Empire until at least the Middle Ages, what is now considered
'the Middle East' was then considered 'the Orient'. During that period, the flourishing cultures of
the Far East were little known, just as Europe was essentially unknown in 'the Far East. Over time,
the common understanding of 'the Orient' has continually shifted East as Western explorers traveled
deeper into Asia. In Biblical times, the Three Wise Men 'from the Orient' were actually Magi from
"The East" (relative to Palestine) meaning 'the Persian Empire'. After all period, as Europe gained
knowledge of countries further to the East, the definition of the limit of 'the Orient' progressively
shifted eastwards, until the Pacific Ocean was reached, in what is also known as 'the Far East'.
This can cause some confusion about the historical and geographic scope of Oriental Studies.
However, there still remain some contexts where 'the Orient' or 'Oriental' refer to older definitions.
For example, 'Oriental Spices' typically come from regions extending from the Middle East through
the Indian sub-continent to Indo-China. Also, travel on the Orient Express (from Paris to Istanbul),
is eastward bound (towards the sunrise), but does not reach what is currently understood to be the
Orient.
In contemporary English, Oriental is usually a synonym for the peoples, cultures and goods from
the parts of East Asia traditionally occupied by East Asians and Southeast Asians, excluding
Indians, Arabs and other more westerly peoples. In some parts of America it is considered
derogatory to use this term to refer to Asians (whether East, South, West or Central Asians). For
example, in Washington state it is illegal to use the word 'oriental' in legislation and government
documents .

19.2 History of Orientalism
It is difficult to be precise about the origin of the distinction between the "West" and the "East".
However the rise of both Christianity and Islam produced a sharp opposition between European
Christendom and the Muslim cultures to the East and in North Africa. During the Middle Ages
Islamic peoples were the "alien" enemies of the Christian world. [citation needed] European

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