Event Title
Revealing the Truths and Fallacies of Orientalism through Sahar Khalifeh's Wild Thorns
Presentation Type
Oral and/or Visual Presentation
Presenter Major(s)
Health Professions
Mentor Information
Coeli Fitzpatrick, fitzpaco@gvsu.edu
Department
Philosophy
Location
Kirkhof Center 2216
Start Date
13-4-2011 2:00 PM
End Date
13-4-2011 2:30 PM
Keywords
Changing Ideas/Changing Worlds, Culture
Abstract
Palestinian-American author Edward Said is famous for documenting the phenomenon he calls Orientalism, in which he describes the demeaning perception that the West holds of the East. Perpetuated through much of western material culture, this orientalist perception stigmatizes the East with negative stereotypes, transforming the Orient into an inferior region. This substandard representation acts as the foundation for the relationship between the Occident and the Orient, and allows the West's continued domination over the East. According to Said, this hierarchical relationship will remain until individuals write back to this orientalist perception and reveal other aspects of eastern culture. Accordingly, Palestinian writer Sahar Khalifeh follows Saidian theory in her novel, Wild Thorns, as she takes what Said calls the voyage in and writes back to this orientalist perception, depicting the complexities of eastern society through her main characters Usama and Adil.
Revealing the Truths and Fallacies of Orientalism through Sahar Khalifeh's Wild Thorns
Kirkhof Center 2216
Palestinian-American author Edward Said is famous for documenting the phenomenon he calls Orientalism, in which he describes the demeaning perception that the West holds of the East. Perpetuated through much of western material culture, this orientalist perception stigmatizes the East with negative stereotypes, transforming the Orient into an inferior region. This substandard representation acts as the foundation for the relationship between the Occident and the Orient, and allows the West's continued domination over the East. According to Said, this hierarchical relationship will remain until individuals write back to this orientalist perception and reveal other aspects of eastern culture. Accordingly, Palestinian writer Sahar Khalifeh follows Saidian theory in her novel, Wild Thorns, as she takes what Said calls the voyage in and writes back to this orientalist perception, depicting the complexities of eastern society through her main characters Usama and Adil.