ORIENTALISM

[Benny Bunter]

Don't want to bog the thread down in political stuff, but it is interesting to think about how the boundaries have changed over the years

 

[catalog]

oriental refers to anything that is not the occidental ie west, or europe and america

 

[Benny Bunter]

Is it or has it been always that simple though?

 

[Benny Bunter]

If someone says 'oriental' the first thing I think of is China or Japan before, say, India or SE Asia

 

[catalog]

well, that's the etymology of the word, but it has obviously acquired a lot of baggage. you have stepped in a few hundred years later.

 

[Benny Bunter]

This is what I want to know, how has its usage changed?

 

[luka]

did you go to university catalog?

 

[catalog]

I don't know the specifics but I guess "orient" might have become associated with the East Asian rather than say India cos it was further to the east?

Just as occident sort of maxes out at America rather than Europe?

Just guessing here really

 

[luka]

This is what I want to know, how has its usage changed?

oriental means eastern basically.

 

[Benny Bunter]

Yes I know that!

 

[catalog]

did you go to university catalog?

Yes

 

[luka]

Yes

where did you go? what did you study? i would have assumed you went art achool. cant picture you in an academic environment. youre even worse than me.

 

[luka]

total fucking scatter brain, cant concentrate for a minute

 

[Benny Bunter]

If someone says 'oriental' the first thing I think of is China or Japan before, say, India or SE Asia

Please don't say it's just me

 

[luka]

Please don't say it's just me

yes, everybody thinks of it as china, japan, korea, tawain.

 

[catalog]

Please don't say it's just me

No it's not, don't worry, that is now the common understanding definitely

 

[Benny Bunter]

Phew...

 

[luka]

Pertaining to the regions east of the Mediterranean, beyond the Roman Empire or the early Christian world; of the Near East, the Middle East or the Far East, now especially relating to East Asia. [from 15th c.]

 

[catalog]

But as a mode, orientalism means that you in the occident inflict various projections onto oriental cultures, which, in this case, is effectively anything not Europe or america

 

[Benny Bunter]

Cool, I'm allowed to post this then