Orientalism is the study of
Near 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.In the former meaning, the term Orientalism has come to acquire negative connotations in some quarters and is interpreted to refer to the study of the East by Westerners shaped by the attitudes of the era of European
imperialism in the
18th and
19th centuries. When used in this sense, it implies old-fashioned and prejudiced outsider interpretations of Eastern cultures and peoples. This viewpoint was most famously articulated and propagated by
Edward Said in his controversial 1978 book
Orientalism, which was critical of this scholarly tradition and also of a few modern scholars, including
Princeton University professor
Bernard Lewis.
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