Orientalism (the academic discipline)

Orientalism is an academic field that studies the cultures, histories, languages, and societies of the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia. It aims to understand these regions more deeply and accurately. However, the term is also associated with a critical perspective introduced by scholar Edward Said, who argued that Western representations often stereotyped and exoticized these cultures, serving colonial interests. Thus, Orientalism as a discipline involves both scholarship on these regions and a reflection on how such knowledge has historically been shaped by power dynamics.