Edward Said may not be the most controversial figure in academia , but he certainly made waves when he founded the fledgling academic field of postcolonial studies. A professor of literature by training, Said's influence extended to many different academic fields during his time. None of his works has been as influential as Orientalism, published almost forty years ago but still very relevant to the modern world, particularly with regard to the Western world's relations with the Middle East. East. This discussion paper addresses the central thesis of Orientalism: that the Middle East is misrepresented in Western culture precisely because it is represented in the first place. In this way, the term "representation" is key to the entire dialogue of Orientalism and even to many of Said's later works. This discussion paper addresses two specific questions: first, what does Said mean by representation? And second, do representations matter for political theory in postcolonial constellations? Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The short answer to the first question is that "representation" is represented by the quote above: Representation replaces actual experience and knowledge with a perceived reality based on historical, political, and cultural interpretation. The portrayal does not necessarily exclude the truth, but it denigrates the West's relationship with the Middle East for centuries. The depictions are relevant to the idea of ​​"Orientalism" as a whole because, as another scholar stated, Said "advanced a comprehensive critique of the West, particularly English, French and American, writing about the Middle East and encompassing literature, history, political science and others” (Halliday 145). Representations, in this way, form the basis of what anti-imperialists and postcolonial thinkers consider to be a completely inaccurate body of knowledge across these various disciplines. The short answer to the second question is that, yes, representations are important for political theory in postcolonial constellations. because they directly influence everything from the economy to foreign policy. The main takeaway from this discussion, then, is that the cultural imperialism of the modern world (which takes the form of representations) is just as real as the political and military imperialism of the past. This political theory article does not attempt to provide a holistic summary of Said's work, nor to formulate a specific opinion on the validity or value of Said's theories within Orientalism. Instead, the discussion attempts to address the theory itself and examine its relevance in the modern political world. Overall, the discussion highlights that representation is a cultural critique of established modern disciplines and discourses, and that the concept remains not only an accurate description of the state of affairs, but also relevant to the relationship between the West and the Orient today. The first theoretical question to ask and answer concerns what Said means by the term “representation” in the first place. Fortunately, Said is a quite talented writer and explains both his theoretical framework and the required evidence in a coherent and straightforward manner that leaves no doubt as to its meaning. As stated above, the bestUnderstanding of representation as it relates to the necessary but obviously tenuous relationship between the Western world and the Middle East can be summarized in Said's following words: "All knowledge which concerns human society... is historical knowledge, and therefore rests on judgment and interpretation. This does not mean that facts or data are non-existent, but that facts derive their importance from what is made of them in interpretation. »(22). This is a description of “representation” as it relates to the world as a whole; for example, knowledge of George Washington depends on the culture, politics, nation-state, and other factors that situate an individual. However, its relevance to East-West relations is clear: Said says that the West (whether an American historian or a British foreign diplomat) does not have direct knowledge of Middle East society. -Orient, but only knowledge that depends on personal, political or cultural judgment and interpretation. “Real” knowledge of the Middle East exists, but any part of it that relates to the West is, as Said says, almost inherently open to interpretation. Said is not making a cultural critique of human interpretation as a whole. In this way, “representation,” as a theoretical term, has much more to do with West versus East, or rather between West and East. As Said puts it: "Unlike the Americans, the French and the British...have a long tradition of what I will call orientalism, a way of accepting the Orient which is based on the particular place of the Orient in the 'Western European experience'. (20). This is the cornerstone of Said's scholarly work and essentially means that relations between Western nations – such as France and Britain – are not shaped solely by today's reality, but rather primarily by past interpretations of what it means to relate to what is used. which we call the Orient. The idea of ​​an “Orient” may be at least a century old, but it seems to have stuck to cultural norms and inherent personal biases. Saïd clarifies this point by stating that it must be clear “about cultural discourse and exchanges within a culture that what commonly circulates in it is not the “truth” but representations” (21 ). In other words, any cultural exchange undertaken by one culture depends on a representation (whether accurate or inaccurate) of the other. According to Said, this representation is not so much built on contemporary reality as on "the agreed institutions, traditions, conventions and codes of understanding" with which foreign culture has been treated in the past. 22). What does Saïd mean by representation? He means that making sense of the Middle East, from a Western perspective, does not yet depend on the Middle East, but rather on the West itself, creating a kind of tautological body of knowledge that does not are perhaps not very useful. to move forward. Instead of expanding knowledge, Said seems to be saying that representations tend to reduce knowledge: "Note with what ease 'the Arab' seems to adapt to the transformations and reductions...to which he is continually forced" (285 ). This is not a productive approach or use of knowledge, and it can be potentially damaging not only to the Middle East but to the entire relationship between Western nations and Middle Eastern nations, thereby harming economic, political and cultural relations. It is also clear that Said believes this is detrimental to academia, which may be just asimportant given that representations are formed primarily by historical interpretation. The term can be further understood by considering the different forms that representation takes, as Said suggests. They include the “politics of cultural relations,” reducing the Middle East to “mere Islam” and giving “the Orient” primary importance in postcolonial international relations and economics (Said 293). He goes on to state that modern investment in the Middle East "rests on foundations of sand, since experts orient their policy based on marketable abstractions such as political elites, modernization and stability, most of which do not are just old orientalist ideas. stereotypes disguised in political jargon” (Said 321). Clearly, what Said means by representation is not just a historical depiction of past evils in the way the West dealt with them. The East in academic writings, political speeches, and even economic choices like the investment and development. Rather, it is an ongoing question that goes to the heart of how the West tends to understand the Middle East – as a completely distinct culture, with not much in common, but just enough common points to make “the Arab” a valuable investment partner. This last aspect of the term representation brings the discussion to the secondary question of this article: why is the theoretical framework formed by Said almost half a century ago important for the modern world, when we are well beyond the colonial era? This is perhaps the most important question, since it is the whole point of Said's writings to show that representation in cultural exchanges between East and West is not a question of the past, but a problem of both the present and the future. Until now, the term “representation” has seemed largely relevant to the colonial powers of the past – France, Britain, Spain, etc. However, if representations are important today, it is because they did not simply disappear with the end of colonialism (in the political and military sense). This cultural approach has remained in the Western psyche, in an unconscious way that has made it potentially even more insidious, including within a country that has no colonial past (at least not in the traditional sense of the term). : the United States of America. Since World War II, the United States has also been drawn into a representational approach to understanding itself in relation to the Middle East. As Said puts it, "a vast network of interests now connects all parts of the former colonial world to the United States, just as a proliferation of academic subspecialties divides (and yet connects) all the ancient philological and European disciplines like orientalism” (284). In other words, the West's colonial influence on the United States did not stop at the political and military situation. There was a cultural element to colonialism that was able to persist, primarily because it was an unconscious part of Western thought. Said goes on to say that in the decades after World War II, "the Muslim Arab became a figure in American popular culture, just as he did in academia, in the world of policy planners, and in the world of business." , very serious attention is given. being paid the Arab” (284). The simple fact that this idea of ​​“the Arab” continues today, until 2016, shows that the influence of representations of the past has certainly influenced representations of the present. Said concludes this part of the discussion with a powerful statement.