Orientalism (Edward Said)

Vocab & general knowledge

antiquity

Ancient times, before the Middle Ages

Adjacent

Next to or adjoining something else (

Colonial bureaucracy

The administrative systems and structures established by colonial powers to govern their territories

Interdependent 

(of two or more things/people) dependent on each other

Connote

Imply or suggest (in addition to the literal or primary meaning) (ilmaista lisäksi)

Transmigration

The passing of a soul into another body after death (a concept related to reincarnation) 

Transmission 

The action or process transmitting (communication)

Ontological

Metaphysics —> dealing with the nature of being (OR: showing the relations between the concepts and categories in a subject)

Epistemological

Relating to the theory of knowledge

Contention 

Heated disagreement (or a claim)f

Michel Focault

French philosopher (one of the most influential and controversial scholars of the pots WW2 period) (folie et deraison)

post-Enlightenment period

Late 18th and early 19th century; romanticism (a direct reaction to the enlightenment period rationalism), the french revolution

Unilateral

A one-sided action or decision performed by or affecting only one party, person or group involved

Franco-British

Connected with both france and britain

The Levant

The region along the eastern mediterranean shores (modern day palestine, jordan, lebanon, syria (from french lever “to rise” as in sunrise, meaning the east) 

Despotism 

The exercise of absolute power, especially in a cruel and oppressive way (tyranny) 

Splendor

Magnificent appereance

The Bible lands

Primarily the Southern Levant (israel, palestine, jordan, syria, egypt, lebanon, and parts of turkey and iraq)

Tacitly 

Understood or implied without being stated 

Pre-eminent

Surpassin all others; very distinguished in some way (greatest, best)

Configuration

(kokoonpano) an arrangement in a particular form or combination

Disingenuous 

Not sincere (deceitful or scheming)

Hegemony

(johtoasema) Leadership or dominance, especially by one state (authority over others)

Kuchuk Hanem

A widely influential model of the oriental woman (gustave flaubert)

Gustave Flaubert

French novelist (Madame Bovary)

Veridical

Truthful, veracious

Ernest Renan

French philosopher, historian, scholar of religion

ANtonio Gramsci 

Italian marxist philosopher and politician (died 1937), his ideas greatly influenced Italian communism (founding member of the Italian communist party)

Totalitarian

A system of government that is centralized and dictatorial and requires complete subservience to the state

Denys Hay

British historian

Positional superiority 

(In “Orientalism”) the West’s ability to maintain a whole series of possible relationships with the Orient without ever losing the upper hand (therefore making the east look “inferior”) 

Western hegemony

The dominance of western cultures, political ideologies, and economic systems on a global scale

Imperialism

The maintaining or extending of power over foreign nations (usually through gaining economic or political control of a region) 

(Sir) William Jones

A welsh philologist/linguist, jurist, and poet

Distortion

The action of giving a misleading impression (OR the state of being distorted —> warp and twist)

Dogmatic

(varma mielipiteestään/uskomuksistaan) inclined to lay down principles as undeniably true

Coarse 

(Of a person or their speech) lacking in refinement; vulgar (OR rough or harsh in texture) 

Polemic

(a speech or piece of writing) critical, controversial opinion

Cogency 

Being clear, logical, and convincing