Page 107 - Introducing Cultural Studies
P. 107
rientalism
European imperialism of the 18th and 19th centuries ended chiefly in
the second half of the 20th century when many former colonies
obtained their independence. Imperialism had a profound effect on
the subject people.
Juan Gimenez-Martin, In the Harem
A particular form in which imperialism survives today has come to be
known as Orientalism, after the book published in 1978 by Edward
Said (b. 1935), the Palestinian-American scholar, intellectual and
activist. Orientalism has been described as the "grandest of all
narratives" connecting Western knowledge and imperialism.
Although Orientalism is regarded as a general theory of
representation, it applies more specifically to Islam and the Muslims.
106
