1 Research Essay Proposal and Annotated Bibliography Topic Description/Synopsis The research paper explores how the academy – as consisted of institutions such as the university, colleges, academic journals, and associated media – entrenches aspects of orientalism in the contemporary context. A term first introduced in an influential book published in 1978 by renowned scholar Edward Said, orientalism refers to seeing the world where the East is imagined as the Other by Western knowledge-makers. In this imaginary and epistemological framework, an orientalist stance exaggerates the differences of Arab people and sets them apart from those in Europe and the USA. While the book was influential in postcolonial discourses of the 1980s and 1990s, the concept is still applicable in the contemporary moment, particularly in the academy's context.
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2 It is worth noting that, in the current political and intellectual climate, there has been a move by academic institutions not to appear to be orientalist. However, examining the strategies used to avoid being labelled orientalist has arguably been based on a misunderstanding of orientalism, as proposed by Edward said. Equally, there are factions among those who contest orientalism who conduct a reductive reading of the book, conceiving it as a text that seeks to propose a fundamentalist understanding of Islam. This reading, too, is based on a gross misunderstanding. Using the notion of orientalism as an entry point and the various modes of academic engagements with the text – the research paper will consider how academic institutions perpetuate orientalism in the contemporary context, whether intentionally or unintentionally. To carry out this investigation, the research paper will consider the various ways to trace an element of neo-orientalism in the contemporary context, even in an environment where there is vibrant decolonizing rhetoric in the academy.
Thesis Statement: An examination of various academic discourses shows evidence of neo-orientalism in 21stcentury academic institutions. To prevent this reductive gaze, academic institutions have to be more aware of neo-orientalism as a concept. Annotated Citations: 1. Keskin, T. (Ed.). (2018). Middle East Studies After September 11: Neo-Orientalism, American Hegemony and Academia. Brill. This collection of essays edited by Tugrul Keskin (2018) considers orientalism as it is manifest in the contemporary context. As Keskin notes, the collection is intended as a contemporary exploration of the evidence, manifestation, or applicability of Said’s thesis. From the outset, the editor acknowledges that orientalism remains policy-oriented and is,
3 therefore, not value-free even in its modern manifestations. Ultimately, this author maintains that even though the relationship between the East and the West has changed significantly since Said’s time, the post-September 11th tendency to establish closer ties with the Middle East could be a variation of neo-orientalism. In this regard, the collection of essays in this book will help consider how scholars working in the academy conceive Orientalism in the 21st century. 2. Scheiwiller, S. G. (2018). (Neo) Orientalism: Alive and Well in American Academia: A Case Study of Contemporary Iranian Art. In Middle East Studies after September 11 (pp. 194-213). Brill. This article’s main argument is that orientalism is still operational in academic institutions in both the USA and Europe. In making this argument, the author studies contemporary Iranian art to explore how it has been displayed and studied in the American academy. According to Scheiwiller (2018), even though there has always been scholarship on contemporary Iranian art from the 1960s, there has been a dramatic rise in interest after the events of September 11, 2001. This author further suggests that after the American wars in Afghanistan and Iran, there has also been rising interest in the Middle East's cultures and lives. It is this rising interest that interests Scheiwiller. In his view, the increased attention is just but another form of orientalism. This article will help to form an argument regarding neoorientalism in academia. 3. Ajil, A., & Blount-Hill, K. L. (2020). “Writing the other as other”: Exploring the othered lens in academia using collaborative autoethnography. Decolonization of Criminology and Justice, 2(1), 83-108. This article by Ajil and Blount-Hill (2020) considers some of how the neo-orientalist tendency can be addressed, particularly within the context of academia. Their research study begins with the acknowledgment that there have been significant changes made in the
4 academy regarding the people who can access it. However, they argue that there are still numerous challenges in reckoning with the experiences and needs of scholars who work in various fields of knowledge production. To this end, they suggest that – to address neoorientalism issues – there should be the promotion of the othered lens in academia. Using the field of criminology as a base, they ultimately suggest that promoting the use of the othered lens in academia may be necessary for the long-term plan to diversify the field. For this reason, this article will be crucial in so far as exploring various solutions to neo-orientalism is concerned. 4. Hallaq, W. (2018). Restating Orientalism: a critique of modern knowledge. Columbia University Press. This text by Hallaq investigates the various ways in which modernity can be understood through the lens of Orientalism. In undertaking this investigation, the author expands the term to encompass the manner in which knowledge is produced and circulated in various fields, including the academy. In this regard, this text will be important to the research to gain insight into how neo-orientalism is evident in the contemporary academic context.
5 References Ajil, A., & Blount-Hill, K. L. (2020). “Writing the other as other”: Exploring the othered lens in academia using collaborative autoethnography. Decolonization of Criminology and Justice, 2(1), 83-108. Hallaq, W. (2018). Restating Orientalism: a critique of modern knowledge. Columbia University Press. Keskin, T. (Ed.). (2018). Middle East Studies After September 11: Neo-Orientalism, American Hegemony and Academia. Brill. Scheiwiller, S. G. (2018). (Neo) Orientalism: Alive and Well in American Academia: A Case Study of Contemporary Iranian Art. In Middle East Studies after September 11 (pp. 194-213). Brill.