Emie C.

Baylon, MA
Faculty (for teaching demonstration purposes)

Give an example of an ill thinking or bias that Westerners or even us, Asians say about the following:

Chinese

Muslims

Indians

Filipinos

Indian 5 6 They stink Filipinos From the land of the maids Too backward Always late

If you were one of these groups, what reactions will you have? Where could these biases have originated?

Western Biases may have originated from the absence of information about the Easterners. Also, the various Western perceptions and experiences influenced other Western nations thinking of the Easterners.

Discuss the concept of Orientalism and its common themes Identify the scholars that aided in the building of Oriental thought Compare and contrast emic and etic perspectives in cultural studies Relate the Oriental thought to historical and culture studies

Was there knowledge of the East prior to the coming and colonization of different Asian territories? How do Westerners refer to the East? Near East, Middle East, Far East or the Orient

ORIENTALISM Dr. Edward Said Orientalism and Culture Studies Professor (Columbia University) Palestinian advocate

Ziauddin Sardar, a Persian scholar so as young students can easily understand the meat of the concept.

Islamic studies

Present ARGUMENT
It the study of Near, Middle and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, and peoples by Western scholars. It can also refer to the imitation or depiction of aspects of Eastern cultures in the West by writers, designers and artists.

oriental women are exotic, submissive and unsophisticated

"Le Bain turc," (Turkish Bath) by J.A.D. Ingres, 1862

Emphasis on the otherness of the Orientals (they will never be Westernized)

Cover of the French magazine le Japon artistique (May 1888) showing one of Hokusai's views on Mount Fuji. (Horace Vernet)

Orientals are people stuck in Time

A View in Cairo, 1840. Oil on canvas, by David Roberts.

orientals are perceived as uncivilized people

Le Massacre de Scio (The Massacre at Chios) by Eugne Delacroix

Arabs, 1871 (Eugene Fromentin)

orientals have a monolithic culture

Why is the knowledge of Oriental thought (Orientalism) important according to Said or Zardar? Defining cultural systems:

Emic perspective focuses on the intrinsic cultural distinctions that are meaningful to the members of a given society

Defining cultural systems:

Etic perspective, relies upon the extrinsic concepts and categories that have meaning for scientific observers (Pike, 1967)

As Asians, are we also victims of these misconceptions? In what manner?

What could be the relationship of this to issues like:

Christian Muslim War Stigma of the Chinese or Filipinos all over the world Discrimination of the Arabs and other Asians all over the world

How can the knowledge of Orientalism help us in understanding Asian History, cultures and civilizations?

As Asians, how will the knowledge of Oriental thought improve our relationships with our Asian neighbors?

Pike, Kenneth Lee (ed.) (1967), Language in Relation to a Unified Theory of Structure of Human Behavior (2nd ed.), The Hague, Netherlands: Mouton. Said, Edward. Orientalism (1978) Pantheon Books Zardar, Ziauddin. Orientalism: Concepts in the Social Sciences Series (1999) , Open University Press,