Reorienting Edward Said’s Orientalism: Multiple Perspectives

Abstract

Edward Said remained a little-known scholar both in the West and in the Arab World until the publication of his major work, Orientalism, in 1978, in which he argues that Western representations of the East have historically been distorted and oversimplified and that these representations have been used to justify European imperialism and domination. This proved a turning point in his academic career, bringing him recognition in the West and, somewhat later, in the Arab World. The purpose of this study is to synthesize and assess Said's theoretical and discursive views in order to offer a full and representative review and analysis of his work and how translation impact on Arabic reader's perspective. When analyzing Said's work, the study primarily relies on his own Orientalism theorizations.