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Produktbeschreibung

Orientalism Western Conceptions of the Orient.

Unreadable rubbish

1 von 5 Punkten
I read this with an open mind, but finally concluded that it is too long, too emotional, too racist, making it unreadable, thus making it rubbish. If you are really interested in point by point rebuttal of this trash(Which is far more readable.), try "Defending the West" by Ibn Warraq. Said really cherry picked history when he wrote this "Orientalism," misrepresented many of his sources, and sometimes even contradicting himself.

not at all good

1 von 5 Punkten
This book is extremely flawed, not the least because its scholarship is far from convincing. Luckily, Ibn Warraq's recently published book (the main title of which, however, could have been chosen more wisely) "Defending the West. A Critique of Edward Said's Orientalism" is an effective rebuttal of Said's theory and critical practice. Both books should therefore be read together in order to evaluate the validity of Said's approach.

Eurocentrism Reconsidered

4 von 5 Punkten
Pro: Good analysis of the Eurocentric view of the Orient.
Con: Could have been much shorter to get the point across...
Edward Said is a Palestinian-American professor of literature at Columbia University in NYC. Having grown up in two seemingly opposing worlds, he has investigated this 'opposition' and come up with very interesting results. As this will probably be an academic read, I will shortly summarize what you will find: His thesis is that European (and later American) culture has mystified the Orient, made it seemingly inaccessible and foreign. This was done not only by rulers and propaganda, but much more subtly by authors, artists, journalists and -lately- the media. It is not necessarily an intentional act, but rather one that has to do with identity: the Orient was necessary for Europe to create its own identity. Said then argues that the academic field of study 'Orientalism' was the avantgarde of creating the myth of the Orient, and thus creating European identity. Said is not really arguing for or against the status quo, but rather analyzing it and questioning it.
'Orientalism' will make you think, but can also bore you if you really intend to read every paragraph. As an academic read in media studies or cultural studies it is essential, but not all of it is relevant for every subject. The book just covers 'too much'...

Seminal but Flawed Work on Colonialism

4 von 5 Punkten
When it was written, Orientalism administered a much-needed correction to the study of the Arab and Asian worlds. Any historian, social scientist or humanist working in related fields should own a copy.
The strength of Edward Said's Orientalism is its highlighting of the underlying assumptions of dominance and subjection in Orientalist scholarship. Said correctly points out that the British, French and United States have relied on the reduction of the Orient to an academic study backed by a mythical image of its inhabitants and cultures as more primitive, passionate, mystical and illogical. Complementing this has been a presumption of Western superiority that allows diagnosis of social ills and prescription of Western remedies for these ills.
Said also pointed out a secondary weakness in the Orientalist approach to its studies. If Westerners presume the Orient to be more passionate and mystical, they may assume that it provides absolute alternatives to the ills of Western culture and modernism. Thus the span of Western history scrutinized by Said has seen individuals and groups embracing ill-understood religions and cultural precepts. The anti-majoritan/left-leaning subcultures arising during the upheavals of the 1960's are particularly susceptible to this.
This leads naturally to Aijid Ahmad's primary criticism of Said. Orientalism doesn't consider the varied responses of the Orient/Third-World to its theories. In particular, Ahmad correctly points out that Orientalism over-focuses blames on the West and doesn't address the self-inflicted problems of "Oriental" societies. Based on this criticism, the proper approach is to balance the effects of Western Orientalism and the indigenous difficulties. Essentially, Ahmad advocates abandoning the simple depiction of the Orient for a complex and layered reality.
Orientalism's uncriticized weakness lies in its treatment of Europe. Said willingly admits his limited focus on Britain, France and United States may miss some important scholarship found elsewhere. This concentration has some logic to it. His trio of nations has been among the strongest if not dominant powers in the colonial and post-colonial world. A complete survey of European Orientalism could run for several volumes. Yet in this focus, Said misses those European nations who had had longer and more intricate relations with the "Orient".
Said mentions his lack of attention to German scholarship on the Orient. Beyond the loss in additional scholarship, he cannot take account of the direct influence of the German academic tradition on the rest of Europe and particularly the United States. Beyond this immediate effect, Said loses the transmitted experience of the German Reich's participation in the direct struggle against the Ottoman Empire. While he mentions the Medieval and Renaissance hostility to Islam based on direct threat and conflict, he ignores the extension of this conflict into the 18th and 19th centuries. Yet this conflict remained a dominant factor in the existence of the Austrian and Russian Empires. As long as the struggle continued, the Orient in the form of Islam would have a direct influence on the course of European history. The simple illustration of this is the European approach to independence for the Balkan states and occasional support for the Ottomans versus an opponent. While this support was partially based on the perceived weakness of the Ottomans and resultant manipulability, it also concedes the existence of some real and beneficial power.
Said's exclusion of other European states weakens his structure in a different manner. It's useful to consider the British and French perceptions of Austria and Russia. A simple interpretation of Orientalism presumes a unified Europe as opposed to the Orient. Yet this ignores the equally institutionalized denigration of Austria and Russia. We can refer to the image of the mythical Slavic province of Ruritania (cf. Anthony Hope's The Prisoner of Zenda), a den of intrigue and iniquity. Add to this Said's notes on the relative knowledge of the Near Orient versus the Far Orient. This suggests more of a subtle gradation in the construction of the Other than is represented by Orientalism's sharp division between Occident and Orient.
Other historical patterns also stress the need for the representation of a more complex Occident. For instance Said argues that European exploration and extension of trade routes to India and the Far East shows hostility to Islam. A simpler explanation may be mercantile concerns for lowering expenses and increasing profits. Direct trade was more profitable than relying on Arab middlemen. The Arab reaction to Portuguese penetration of the Indian Ocean reflected a concern with being excluded from the profits of trade with India rather than with the intrusion of a new power in the region. This concern with trade leads to different motivations for learning languages and examining cultures. A variety of motivations for scholarship argue for a more complex Occident. The need for more complexity does not necessarily invalidate Said's central points on the institutionalized domination common to Western European Orientalism. Rather it demands refinement of a useful critique of the study of colonialism.

Orientalism

5 von 5 Punkten
...Edward Said writes an important piece, revealing several important aspects of western thought. He proves that, even today, racism plays a dominant role in Westerner's perceptions and treatment of others. Said utilizes numerous literary, scholarly, and policy works to deconstruct Orientalism. These pieces aid comprehension and help to illustrate his complex issues. In addition, he exposes a logical and thought provoking argument that appeals to students and scholars in modern Middle Eastern Studies and a variety of other disciplines.

Amazon.com

Amazon Best of the Month, June 2008: When author Douglas Preston moved his family to Florence he never expected he would soon become obsessed and entwined in a horrific crime story whose true-life details rivaled the plots of his own bestselling thrillers. While researching his next book, Preston met Mario Spezi, an Italian journalist who told him about the Monster of Florence, Italy's answer to Jack the Ripper, a terror who stalked lovers' lanes in the Italian countryside. The killer would strike at the most intimate time, leaving mutilated corpses in his bloody wake over a period from 1968 to 1985. One of these crimes had taken place in an olive grove on the property of Preston's new home. That was enough for him to join "Monsterologist" Spezi on a quest to name the killer, or killers, and bring closure to these unsolved crimes. Local theories and accusations flourished: the killer was a cuckolded husband; a local aristocrat; a physician or butcher, someone well-versed with knives; a satanic cult. Thomas Harris even dipped into "Monster" lore for some of Hannibal Lecter's more Grand Guignol moments in Hannibal. Add to this a paranoid police force more concerned with saving face and naming a suspect (any suspect) than with assessing the often conflicting evidence on hand, and an unbelievable twist that finds both authors charged with obstructing justice, with Spezi jailed on suspicion of being the Monster himself. The Monster of Florence is split into two sections: the first half is Spezi's story, with the latter bringing in Preston's updated involvement on the case. Together these two parts create a dark and fascinating descent into a landscape of horror that deserves to be shelved between In Cold Blood and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. --Brad Thomas Parsons

Beware all those who enter here

5 von 5 Punkten
In a way it's what we expect from Douglas Preston: suspense, a great read, well written ... and yet it's different, and much more. I simply couldn't put it down. What you can't believe is that this is happening in a civilized and modern country in present-day Europe. It really makes you think twice if you ever want to go to Italy on vacation ...

novel or not?

4 von 5 Punkten
The monster of florence is not a novel in the sense of fiction. It's a real story but nevertheless or just because of this, even more frightening and thrilling than a fiction. I know a girl who lived in the area at that time and she still does not like to talk about the issue.

Desert children / Schmerzenskinder

5 von 5 Punkten
ENGLSIH
Waris Dirie is da Somali, who ran away when her father wanted her to marry an old man when she was 13. In Europe she was discovered by a photoprapher and now she is a very famous Model.

As a child she had a circumcision and now she fights FGM (female genital mutilation) as an UN- ambassador.

In this book she and a journalist investigate the practice of FGM in Europe.
They find out that about 500'000 women and girls have been circumcised.

She has two other books: desert flower and desert dawn

DEUTSCH
Waris Dirie ist eine Somali die vor ihrem Vater/ vor einer geplanten Hochzeit geflohen ist. In Europa wurde sie dann entdeckt und ist nun ein bekanntes Model.

Als Kind wurde sie beschnitten und kämpft nun als UN-Sonderbotschafterin gegen die weibliche Beschneidung.

Um dieses Thema geht es auch in diesem Buch. Waris und eine Reporterin untersuchen wie die Lage in Europa ist. Sie haben herausgefunden dass ungefähr 500'000 Frauen und Mädchen beschnitten wurden in in Gefahr laufen beschnitten zu werden.

Waris Dirie hat auch noch zwei andere Romane geschrieben: Wüstenblume (1.) und Nomadentocher

mitreißend

5 von 5 Punkten
Ich finde dieses Buch sehr informativ und einfach mitreißend. Am Ende fühlt man sich einfach gezwungen mit einer Spende gegen FGM zu helfen. Ich bewundere Waris deshalb, weil sie einen felsenfesten Willen hat, den Sie durchsetzen kann.
Das Buch ist nicht so schwer zu lesen. Ich kaufe mir sicher wieder eines davon.
Danke!