Courses

The publication of Edward Said’s Orientalism in 1978 heralded heated debates that centered on the question of the representation of the other, more specifically, European constructions of the “Orient.” Extending over many academic disciplines and covering ideological, political, social, cultural, and artistic realms, Said’s book led to the emergence of a wide literature. As testified by scores of recent books and articles, the discussions continue to maintain their fervor. Nevertheless, one perspective remains neglected: the ways in which the othered subjects evaluated the European discourse. Our seminar will address this lacuna and study how “Orientals” read the Orientalist discourse. Examining the work of Middle Eastern authors (and in a few cases, artists), we will gain insights into their reactions, anger, and appropriations, as well as the broader parameters of their own intellectual searches and struggles. Capitalizing on original texts (made accessible in English in my Europe Knows Nothing about the Orient, 2021), we will listen to late Ottoman and early Turkish Republican intellectuals, who produced a significant discourse of their own. In accord with the European texts, these come from different disciplines and range from philosophical essays to journalistic editorials, academic articles on art and architectural history, and literary works (novels, short stories, poems). We will expand the Ottoman/Turkish perspective by including voices from other parts of the Middle East and North Africa, while also considering European critical writing. The chronological bracket is from the 1870s to the 1930s, corresponding to the peak of Orientalism.