Defining “Orientalism”

The term “Orientalism” is related to postcolonial studies. It was created in the XIX Century to designate “Any system, doctrine, custom, expression, etc., peculiar to Oriental people. Knowledge or use of Oriental languages, history, literature, etc.( Webster’s 1913 Dictionary).

The ideological interpretation of Orientalism appeared in the controversial book Orientalism of Edward Said, a Palestinian born / American intellectual who died in September of 2003 at the age of 67. According to Saïd:  “Orientalism is a style of thought based upon ontological and epistemological distinction made between "the Orient" and (most of the time) "the Occident ".” (Edward Said, Orientalism, New York, Vintage, 1979) 

The word “orient” is from Latin “oriente” which indicates the lands where the sun rises. The original designation were for the eastern parts of the Roman Empire, the regions that later were turned into the Byzantine Empire. The Orient became than the “Levant” that means in French “the country were the sun rises. 

In the age of the Enlightenment the Orient symbolized the rise of civilizations. It designated the eastern side of the Mediterranean, the region legated by the Ottoman Empire, like Egypt, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine / Israel.

 

In modern times, the term “Orient” has been used to designate areas that do not belong to the Western cultural hemisphere, and has been expanded to cover the regions of East Asia, as China, Japan and Korea.

  

The opening between the East and the West started with the Crusades of the Middle Age. This period was considered as the first contact with the Orient through the so called religious war. The crusading period last about 200 year, from 1095 to 1291 with the fall of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem.

In the XVII Century, all Europe compete to conquer the ocean, the new way to discover new spaces was through travelers, merchants and diplomats. The Orient was still closer to Europe and easier to reach. 

The XVIII Century is marked by new explorations and scientific discoveries. The industrial revolution is followed by the Civil Revolution in 1789. During this period, the Orient was a good source of herbs, spices and new products. For the intellectual European, it served as in allegory to criticize its own government and society. 

The romantic orientalism appeared in the XIX Century. After the decline of the Ottoman Empire, the two powers of Europe, France and Britain, rivaled to colonize the Orient. The diplomatic and economical exchanges enhanced the travels and made them easier. For artists, the Orient became the source of their romantic dream and the more personal encounter with the “Other”. The vision of Orient was individualized. At this time the terms “Orientalism” and “Orientalist” were in use, and they became later an aspect of colonialism, as Saïd confirmed:

The Orient is not only adjacent to Europe; it is also the place of Europe's greatest and richest and oldest colonies, the source of its civilizations and languages, its cultural contestant, and one of its deepest and most recurring images of the Other. (Edward Said, Orientalism, New York, Vintage, 1979)

Orientalism is a very large concept it involved multiple spaces and multiple periods of time, its meaning vary depending on the context and on the relation between the East and the West. 

L’ Ère de la mondialisation

Dans la pénombre d’un arbre fleuri, j’ai passé un moment de rêverie. J’ai rêvé à un monde meilleur, où tous les êtres humains se prennent la main pour enlacer la terre, source de leur vie. N’est-ce pas l’ère de la mondialisation? Quel est le sens de ce terme sinon que d’offrir à tout individu le droit de penser grand, au-delà de ses limites spatiales ? Mais la globalisation s’avère comme un nouveau droit de colonisation qui donne aux pays de l’hémisphère Nord l’accès vers les pays du Sud, et  aux pays « développés » de l’Ouest l’accès vers les pays « sous-développés » de l’Est.

Martyres, martyres des guerres intermittentes où allez-vous comme ça?

Chers pour vos compatriotes et vilains pour vos ennemis. Y’ a-t-il, vraiment, des principes qui vous tentent à vous sacrifier? Est-ce le fondamentalisme, politique ou religieux,  qui vous pousse à arroser la terre de votre matière rouge qui coule bleuâtre sous vos peaux multicolores? 

Êtes-vous chrétiens, musulmans ou bouddhistes?

Êtes-vous Tchétchènes, Afghans ou Irakiens?

Voix qui crient du fond de la misère, faites vomir les entrailles de la planète fatiguée de vos maux, Lasse de tant d’injustice et de trahison.

S’il y aura révolte, ce sera celle de l’humanité qui perd son sens authentique au profit d’une « bestialité » calculée et scientifique. L’être humain est un animal pensant. Il pense, donc il est.

À quoi pense-t-il?

Il pense exploiter autrui, sa terre, son pays, ses idées, sa force et sa faiblesse.

Il pense  faire évoluer sa race suprême au dépend des autres races inférieures.

Il pense aménager son bien-être en dépit du malheur des autres.

Point de lendemain pour cette humanité qui s’entretue, rien que le néant.