GEOG 882
Geographic Foundations of Geospatial Intelligence

3.7 Said on Orientalism

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As you read Said's thoughts on Orientalism, do some critical thinking and ask yourself:

  • Said is negative about traditional Orientalism because of the location in society of orientalists, their cultural filters, and the power relationships that inform their analysis. Why did Orientalism as a discipline develop the way it did?
  • Said talks about the "world information order." This article was written in 1984. How have advances in technology affected the world information order since 1984, and are "Orientals" still disenfranchised from the world information order?
  • Said calls for a new Orientalism that is a form of anti-geopolitics. Of what value would an understanding of a "new Orientalist" discourse be to the geospatial intelligence professional?

Required Reading

Read Said's thoughts on Orientalism in "Orientalism Reconsidered" in The Geopolitics Reader, 2nd edition. (Pages 250-255)