Orientalism

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the study of Orientalism and defines it by looking through the viewpoint of the west and the west?s relationship with the east. It looks at the emergence of the Orient as a term in the 19th century, which would be called the lands around the southern Mediterranean Sea. The paper provides a history of the relationship the west has had with the Orient. It describes the arts and crafts of the Orient which came to the west through trade and the crusades. The author writes that throughout the history, the Orientalists have been stereotyped in the role of a dark, a mysterious, an alien, the bizarre and the threat, by the Western world.

From the Paper:

"Ever since the scholars such as Edward Said have started to work on the subject of Orientalism, the philosophical emphasis of the Western World has been closely scrutinizing the regions, cultures, norms, peoples and systems that represented the term 'Orient'. The study of the issue of Orientalism is important in a sense because it has deeply influenced the Western perceptions about the East. The main reason for which studying the issue of Orientalism is important is that the interaction between the Orient and Europe influenced the travel, trade, crusades, missionary activity and cultural exchange between the empires which later lead to the age of European expansion and colonization. It is also important to note that the interaction between the Orient and Europe significantly changed the meaning of the East. "

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