How the West Constructed Its Perception of the Orient

Abstract

Edward Said was a literature professor at the University of Columbia and a founder of the post-colonial studies' academic field. Said was considered a cultural critic and known for his book Orientalism. Orientalism is regarded as a critique of how the western world perceives the Orient, which is today considered the Middle East, Asia, and the North Africa region. Said argues that the Orient's notion is a misconception from the real Orient as viewed from the West's eyes, precisely France, England, and the United States of America. Said says that the West has constructed their ideas of the Orient into what they want others to view it basing it on the power dynamics between the East and the West. Therefore, according to Said, the 'Orient' is a term created by the West. Said argues that the West dictates the degree of knowledge as far as the Orient was concerned concerning knowledge and power. Bearing this in mind, it means that knowledge and power derive the effectiveness of orientalism. As far as the Orient was concerned, even from the very beginning, the West managed to dictate the degree of knowledge, considering that the so-called understanding was initially flawed and stereotyped, which was later manipulated to form the basics of power. The West managed to portray the East as the terrorist backyard, and such kind of analysis and information was outright inaccurate. By manipulating the knowledge regarding power and the East's views, the West made people worldwide believe that the East was dragging behind in all aspects. The notion was to imply that the East was less familiar with the advancements of almost everything compared to the West by choosing to concentrate on irrelevant things like the Jihad, which according to Said, was not valid. Said notes with...