Orientalism/ Edward Said/ 1978

School of thought: Postcolonial

Historiography of Scholarship: Foucault (Discipline and Punish), Gramsci (Consent and Hegemony)

Said argues the 'orient' to be an European invention, and presents three meanings of his term 'Orientalism'. First, in the academic world, Orientalism apples to everyone who studies, writes, teaches about the Orient. Second, it is style of thought based upon an ontological difference created between the 'Occident' and the 'Orient'. Third, in a larger sense, Orientalism can be thought of as a corporate institution of the west, for dominating, restructuring and having authority over the orient.

By employing Foucault's notion of discourse, Said argues Orientalism to be a discourse through which the Europe created a a systematic discipline (myth turned into a discipline) through which they managed and produced the 'orient'. Second, by using Gramsci's idea of hegemony, or rather cultural hegemony, he argues by orientalising, Europe established its identity as being far superior to all other non-europeans. The west was defining itself by defining the 'Other'. (Ex: because the religion of Christ is called Christianity, they termed the religion following Muhammed as Muhammedism")
A dichotomy was constructed with the west being civilized, hygienic, intellectual, rational world; and the oriental world being uncivilized, unhygienic, mysterious, esoteric, superstitious etc. This construction of the orient was eventually employed for political dominance.

Said uses 19th century novels by Stacy and Renan where they romanticized the East, as being an entirely different place from the west. Said argues that earlier European novels depicting the East as esoteric created a bias and prejudice for further writers and visitors who encountered the orient with a colored lens.

He argues that today (post WW2) the center of orientalism has shifted from Europe to the USA. While earlier oriental studies were undertaken to understand the colonial populace, make policies for them, and rule them; the independence of European colonies put an end to such a discourse. Later, orientalism has been occurring through western academic scholarship centered in the the US.

Said's final argument is that his primary contention is against the creation of boundaries of 'self' and 'other', rather than critiquing scholars who generalize an entire population or exclude the orient's perspective in their narrative.

Critique: Critiquing an entire scholarship created of the Orients by western scholars as Orientalism is in itself a sweeping generalization. 

Colonizing Egypt / Timothy Mitchell/ 1991

Mitchell argues that the British orientalized the Egypt in the process of colonizing them.

In the first chapter, he gives a textual tour of the Paris exposition in 1851 were British put up 'Egypt' on display. Winding roads and dirty houses were recreated in the exhibition, and dirty looking Egyptians were brought in to pose and dance for the visitors to the exposition. He argues that Egypt was made into an 'object' that was put on display. The group of Egyptians who were visiting were disgusted by this and kept themselves away. In this exhibition not even colonial elites (like the king of Egypt) was made an exception. When the rulers encountered British description of themselves they strategically decided to Europeanize themselves, and accept that Egyptians needed to embrace modernity.

The later chapter, discuss the 19th century colonial projects which were carried out in a system called 'new order'. The British created a new military framework by drafting Egyptian peasants, and to ensure the peasants stayed in the barracks they created a 'model village' of western-style houses. Concurrently the colonial elites who had encountered their constructed image in Paris, went about westernizing the streets of Cairo and introduced western style education in the schools to instill self discipline in students. He explaining the actions of both the British and the colonial elite, Mitchell employs Foucault's idea of 'institutional/ disciplinary power' to discuss the human agency in making 'objectness'. Mitchell argues that these processes of westernization were rationalized under Islamic traditions. In colonizing Egypt, Mitchell argues that British and colonial elites constructed a new Egypt.

Historiographical engagement: Foucault (Power), Said (Orientalism)