How did Edward Said's Orientalism examine Western portrayals of non-European societies?

In his influential 1978 work Orientalism, Edward Said examined how Western scholarly and cultural portrayals of the "Orient"—specifically the Arab and Islamic worlds—functioned as a tool of imperial power.12

Said argued that Western scholarship was not an objective pursuit of knowledge but rather a biased practice that projected a false, stereotyped vision of "otherness" onto non-European societies. By characterizing these cultures as stagnant, exotic, or inferior, Western scholars and artists created a binary opposition that defined the "Occident" (the West) as superior, rational, and developed.13

According to Said, this construction of the "Orient" served to facilitate and justify Western colonial policy by portraying non-European peoples as needing Western guidance or control. His critique fundamentally challenged mainstream academic approaches, arguing that they were part of an international system of domination that persisted even after the formal end of colonial rule. This analysis became a foundational text for postcolonial studies, encouraging a critical re-evaluation of how Western knowledge production has historically shaped, and often distorted, the understanding of non-Western cultures.12