(Ebook) Orientalism by A.L. Macfie ISBN 9780582423862, 0582423864

(Ebook) Orientalism by A.L. Macfie ISBN 9780582423862, 0582423864

A massively topical reprise of the critical debate about western images and stereotypes of the Arab world and Islam. Provides essential background to understanding this part of the world. Offers a brief history of the debate regarding orientalism, as defined by Said and others. Summarises and comments on a number of significant texts. Details a number of case studies which have been inspired by the debate. Provides a useful chronology. Will be important briefing document for anyone commentating on or communicating with the East - journalists, Foreign Office officials, diplomats etc.In the 1960s and 1970s a powerful assault was launched on orientalism - the study of the Orient. At the center of this attack was Edward Said, whose devastating critique accused Western orientalists of creating stereotypical images of the East, thereby facilitating imperialism and colonialism and inciting chauvinism and racism. The debate ranged far beyond the traditional limits of 'dry-as-dust' orientalism, involving questions concerning the nature of identity, the nature of imperialism, Islamophobia, myth, Arabism, racialism, intercultural relations and feminism. Charting the history of the vigorous debate about the nature of orientalism, this timely account revisits the arguments and surveys the case studies inspired by that debate. It summarizes and comments on a number of significant texts, details a number of case studies which have been inspired by the debate, and provides a useful chronology. A.L. Macfie has written widely about the modern history of the Near and Middle East. His books include The Eastern Question, Longman (1996) and The End of the Ottoman Empire, Longman (1998).