Occidentalism

Abstract

Edward W. Said, the Palestinian professor of literature, concludes his classic work Orientalism by pointing out that the answer to Orientalism is not Occidentalism.1 In his view, Orientalism characterizes the dichotomic and simplified view in the West of the cultural, religious, and socially heterogeneous region that is bundled under the common name of the Orient. Said calls for relationships and attitudes toward the West to be based on seeking knowledge beyond expressions of simple and dichotomic worldviews.