HIS 351Said's Orientalism: History of

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Said's Orientalism: History of a Book. This seminar will examine Edward W. Said's Orientalism (1978) as historical text and historical phenomenon of enduring significance. What are the main precepts of Orientalism-the intellectual tradition, scholarly discipline, and cultural discourse "by which European culture was able to manage [the Middle East] politically, sociologically, militarily, ideologically, scientifically, and imaginatively"? How did it collude with political and imperial power? Within and against which historical contexts did the book emerge-i.e., an America grappling with economic adversity and a rising tide of anti-liberal politics, and a Middle East increasingly embroiled in civil and international conflict? Where does it fall within the larger intellectual history of decolonization in the second half of the twentieth century? How and why did the book redefine the study of the Middle East in the United States, for better and for worse? How was the book critically received by different thinkers? These are questions this seminar will explore, taking Said's Orientalism as the centerpiece of a historical investigation spanning the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. The aim is to encourage students to think critically about the materiality, exteriority, and sociality of books. Prerequisite: HIS-266 or a 200-level on apsect or period of Islamic, Middle Eastern, African, or global histories with instructor approval.