Edward Said’s Orientalism is foundational to postcolonial and imperial critical analysis in so far as it provides a systematic surfacing of the Western construction of the Orient (Near East) ideologically, as an ideal ideological foil to Western notions of superiority, racism, and the justification of imperial expansion.
Please consider watching these videos available at vodpod.com (below is 1 of 4). They are from a PBS interview with Said, Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University regarding his work Orientalism, which has been in publication (still) for 25 years! Said died in 2003, but his work is considered by many to be a classic and well worth your read.
On Orientalism-Edward Said 1/4 – Watch more Videos at Vodpod.
Jesus and Empire 