Postcolonial literature.

Name              -           Bhaliya Uma H.

Roll no:          -           01

M.A.Part-ii    -           Sem-iii

Paper             -           05, EE-305.

Paper name   -           Postcolonial  

                                    literature.

Topic for assignment      -

                     “An introduction to orientalism”

Submitted To:            Dr. Dilipsir Barad

                               Department of English.

                               Bhavnagar university,

                         Bhavnagar.

Ø  EDWARD SAID

He is a scholar of postcolonial Studies and professor of comparative literature at Columbia University. He is also great activist in Middle Eastern politics.

He was born in Jerusalem, Palestine in 1935. His mother was of Lebanese descent and his father was a successful Palestinian book merchant. The family had homes in Palestine, Cairo, Egypt, and a vocation home in Lebanon. Said was a privileged child and had little interest in the conflict between Israel and Palestine. His educational life was one of private school wealth, but perhaps most importantly; it was in a multiethnic, multi-religious community.

During the 1970’s he was academic in the field of comparative literature began writing on contemporary Arab literature. And in 1975-1976 he was a fellow at the center for advanced study at Stanford University. While he was at Stanford that time he was at Stanford that time he wrote Orientalism. And next three years. He published covering Islam (1981)

And the question of Palestine (1979), which in conjunction with Orientalism.

Ø  INTRODUCTION

Edward Said’s Orientalism (1978) is the process by which Europe studied, disciplined, controlled and governed studied, disciplined, controlled and governed Non-European cultures. European scholars studied and represented the Non-European cultures in certain ways through stereotypes of the effeminate, weak. Vulnerable and primitive native. Orientalism produces literature, anthropological tracts, missionary narratives, histories and political documents on the Non-European worlds. Edward Said’s work had facilitated a deeper understanding of western literature and the relations between Europe and the rest of the world by locating culture within the power relations of colonialism. Edward said’s evaluation and critique of the set of beliefs known as Orientalism forms an important background for postcolonial studies. Edward said that has been highly influential and controversial in postcolonial studies and other fields.

·         THE ORIENT

The words Orient represent the orient into western learning, western consciousness, and western empire. It is a mirror image of what is inferior and other to the west.

·         ORIENTALISM

Orientalism is image of the ‘orient’ expressed as an entire system of thought and scholarship.

·         THE ORIENTAL

Is the person represented by such thinking. The oriental is a single image, a sweeping generalization, a stereotype that crosses countless cultural and national boundaries.

Edward said Orientalism published in 1978. In his work on the interplay between the “occident” and the “orient”. The occident is his term for the west (England, France, and the united states), and the orient is the term for the romantic and misunderstood middle east and far viewed with prejudice and racism. They are backward and unaware of their own history and culture. To fill this void, the west has created a culture, history, and future promise for them. On this framework rests not only the study of the orient, but also the political imperialism of Europe in the west.

Ø  AN INTRODUCTION TO EDWARD SAID’S ORIENTALISM.

Orientalism by Edward said is a cultural studies in which he has challenged the concept of Orientalism or the difference between east and west. When the start of European came in contact with the lesser developed countries of the east and found their civilization and culture very exotic, and established the science of Orientalism which was the study of the Orientals or the people from these exotic civilization.

The Europeans divided the world into two parts: the east and the west or the occident and the orient or the civilizes and the uncivilized. The Europeans used Orientalism to define themselves as the superior race compared to the Orientals; and they justified their colonization by this concept. But the main problem is that when the Europeans started generalizing the attributes they associated with Orientals, and started portraying these Artificial characteristics associated with Orientals in their  western world through their scientific reports, literary work, and other media sources. The Orientals can be seen even today, example for the Arabs are defined as uncivilized people; and Islam is seen as religion of the terrorist.

Orientalism is often classed with postmodernist and postcolonial works that share various Degrees of skepticism about representation itself. He considers the book to be in the tradition of “humanistic critique” and the enlightenment Michel Foucault said emphasized the relationship between power and knowledge in particular regarding European views of the Islamic Arab world. Said argued that orient and occident worked of the Islamic Arab world. Said argued that orient and occident worked as oppositional terms, so that’s why the “orient” was constructed as a negative inversion of western culture, and the work of another thinker Antonio Gramsci, was also important in shaping Edward said’s analysis in this area. African and Asian history and culture he said that Orientalism is and does not merely represent a significant dimension of modern political and intellectual culture. Histories of the Greco Persian wars may contrast the monarchical government of the Persian Empire with the democratic Tradition of Athens. And more general comparison between the Greeks and the Persians, and between “the west” and “the east” or “Europe” and “Asia”.

Ø  THREE CHAPTERS

(a) The scope of Orientalism

(b)  Orientalist Structures and Restructures

(c) Orientalism Now.

A.        THE SCOPE OF ORIENTALISM

Edward said present in this chapter that how the science of Orientalism developed and how the Orientals started considering the Orientals as non-human beings. The Orientals divided the world into two parts and than an imaginary geographical line was drawn between what was ours and what was theirs. All orients are uncivilized people and their duty to civilize these people and to achieve their goal. They said that the orients themselves were incapable of running their own government. Various teams have been sent to the east where the Orientalits silently observed the Orientals by living with them and every thing recorded that the Orientals said and projected to the civilized world of the west. This resulted in the generalization. But the Orientals was associated with the oriental culture. The most important use of orientalism to the Europeans was that they defined themselves by defining the orientals. Because in order to achieve this goal, it was very necessary for the orientalists to generalize the culture of the orients. European audience by linking them to the western culture. Islam was made into mohammadism because mohammad was the founder of this religion and since religion of Christ was called Christianity, so the Islam should be noted here is that no Muslim was aware of this terminology and this was a completely western created term, and to which the Muslims had no say at all said draws on written and spoken historical commentary by such western figures as Arthur James balfour, napoleon, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Byron, Henry Kissinger, Dante and others who all portray the “east” as being both “other” and “ inferior”. He also draws on several European studies of the region by orientalists including the bibliotheque orientale by French author barthelemy d’herbelot de molainville to illustrate in European society and in their academic, literary and political interiors.

B .ORIENTALIST STRUCTURES AND RESTRUCTURES

He presents in this chapter the attitude of the Europeans towards the Orientals. The orientals were really publicized in the European world especially poets and writers presented oriental land and behavior to the western world. The orientalists had create strictly stage for the European viewers, and also colour of the orientalist or other writers perception. The orient writers perception. The orient lands were so highly romanticized that western literary writers found it necessary to offer pilgrimage to these exotic lands of pure sun light and clean oceans in order to experience peace of mind, and inspiration for their writing. The east present the orientalist as a place of pure human culture with no necessary evil in the society. Orientals made them inferior to the clever, witty, diplomatic, far-sighted European. It was their right to rule and study such an innocent race. The Europeans said that these people to deal with cruel world and they needed to assist them and other thing is that the Europeans gave to their colonization. Because for they have developed the orientals as a nation. Which shows that they were biologically superior, and secondly it were the Europeans who discovered the orients not the orients who discovered the Europeans. Darwin’s theories were put forward to justify their superiority, biologically by the Europeans. Edward said also present that two orientalists of the 19^th century, Silvestre de sacy and Ernest Renan worked and gave orientalism a new dimension. In this field Edward also present sacy contribution and also he says that sacy organize the whole thing by arranging the information it helpful to the future orientalist. The prejudice that was inherited by every orientalist was considerably low in him. Renan took advantage of sacy work was as biased as any previous orientalist. He believed that the science of philology have a very important relation. And Renan give this idea a lot attention and many future orientalist worked of in its line in this chapter he also present that hoe orientalist was  transferred from country to country and from political leader to author. He states that the four elements. He have described that expansion, historical confrontation. The 19^th century European exploration by such historical figures as Sir Richard Francis Burton and chateaubriand, said suggests that this new discourse about the orient was situated within the old one. Famous authors and scholars Edward William lane spent his two or three year in Egypt. But he came back because of his entire book manners and customs of the modern Egyptians. Which was widely circulated in Europe. The east depended for their own education, that way orientalist discourse of the west over the east was passed down through European writers and politicians.

c.  ORIENTALISM NOW

In this chapter the colonization of the Europeans was shaped the geography of the world and that geographical knowledge is bases of orientalism. In the 20^th century the author talks some changes in the circumstances of the world politics and changing approach to orientalism. The earlier orientalist is more of silent observers and the new orientalists took a part in the every day life of the orients. And also one thing that they did not interact also with the orients. But another side is deferent that new orients lived with them as if they were one of them. This was not out of appreciation of their lifestyle but it was to know more about the orients in order to rule them properly. Lawrence of Arabia was one of such orientalists. In this chapter said present two scholars massignon and Gibb. Than massignon was a bit liberal with orientalists and often tried to protect their right. All those thing are seen in his work.

After World War 1 the world situation are changing. Orientalism took a more liberal about its subjects. But Islamic orientalism did not enjoy this status. There were constant attacks to shoe Islam as a weak religion, and a mixture of many religions and thoughts. Also when Gibb was the most famous Islamic orientalist of this time. After World War 1 the centre of orientalism moved from Europe to USA. During this time one important transformation is that to social science now. All the orientalists studied the Orientals to assist their government to come up with policies for dealing with orient countries. All the Europeans colonies were lost with the end of World War 2. And there is no more Orientals and occidents western prejudice towards eastern countries for example Arabs were often represented as cruel and violent people. Japanese were always associated with karate where as the Muslims were always considered to be terrorists. Increasing globalization and awareness, such bias was found in the people of the developed countries.

Ø  OTHER OBSERVATION

Thus, at last we can say that Edward said present orientalism with the postcolonial way’s of studies. He really present the long tradition of the French and British – less so the Germans, Russians, Spanish, Portuguese, Italians, and Swiss.. And that’s why we can say orientalism. The terms orient is based on the orient’s special place in European western experience. It is the place of Europe’s greatest and richest and oldest colonies, the source of its civilizations and languages, its cultural contestant, and one of its deepest and most recurring images of the other. The orient has helped to define Europe and its image, idea, personality and experience. Orientalism expresses and represents the past culturally and even ideologically as a mode of discourse with supporting institutions, vocabulary, scholarship, imagery, doctrines, even colonial burequcracies and colonial styles.

Ø  CONCLUSION

At last we can says that in orientalism Edward said says that a rejection of biological generalizations, cultural constructions and racial and religious prejudices. The geographical landscape known as the orient, meaning that a historian and a scholar would turn not to a panoramic view of half of the globe, but rather to a focused and complex type of history that allow space for the dynamic variety of human experience rejection of orientalist thinking is not denial of the differences between ‘the west’ and ‘the orient’, but an evaluation of such difference in a more critical and objective fashion. ‘The orient’ cannot studied non-orientalist manner. But study focused and smaller culturally consistent regions. Those person known as the oriental he give a voice. Scholarship from afar and second hand representation must take a back seat to narrative and self-representation on the part of the ‘oriental’.  

Edward said conclude his book by saying that he is not saying that the orientalists should not make generalization, or they should include the orient perspective too, but creating a boundary at the first place is something which should not be done.

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