1. Reading Orientalism
Orientalism is our doorway to colonial discourse but the two terms are not interchangeable. Colonial discourses are more complex and variable the Said's model of Orientalism; they encapsulate Orientalism , and go beyond it!
Said's Orientalism is a study of how the Western colonial powers of Britain and France represented North Africa and Middle eastern lands in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The Orient is the collective noun Said uses to refer to these places . Orientalism refers to the sum of the West's representations of the Orient. In the book's later chapters , Said looks at how Orientalism still survives today in Western Media reports of Eastern, esp Arab, lands, despite formal decolonization for many countries. This reinforces the point made previously that the machinery of colonialism does not simply disappear as soon as the colonies become independent. Indeed, Said shows how modes of representation common to colonialism have continued after decolonization and are still very much a part of the contemporary world.
One of Orientalism's many commendable qualities is its readability. Although a lengthy academic work that draws upon some complex scholarship, particularly the political theories of Antonio Gramsci and Michel Foucault, Said's written style is accessible and noted for its clarity and lucidity.