Edward Said’s Orientalism was a challenging piece to read due to the rich vocabulary and complex ideas and claims; however, I enjoyed reading it. The text has numerous interesting and essential components.
I think it is important to understand how Said examined the relationship between the Orient and the West. He explains how the West used its academic system and scholarly images to create the “inferior” image of other cultures, in this case, the East. This is how Americans are “educated,” and these misrepresentations are ingrained in Western culture. Said continues to build upon this idea. I thought it was interesting how he defined Orientalism; he refers to Orientalism as the relationships created through language, literature, politics, and finally, power. The definition he describes ties into all his claims throughout this first part we read. Interestingly, it also correlates to what I have noticed about corrupt educational, political, and religious systems, so I understand what Said is claiming.
The language that Said uses is, for sure, challenging, and I did have to go back and re-read certain parts. Eventually, I began to understand how he expounds on the West exploiting Eastern cultures for their benefits and gains.
Overall, this text matters to me because it exposes a sociological and historical perspective of how Orientalism and Western dominance emerged. We must hear about educated opinions, findings, and arguments so we can gain a better understanding of how the issues today were started. I am glad I was able to pull some ideas from this difficult text, though I am sure Said has many more points woven into his excellent book.
