166-425 Orientalism: Discourse and Method

Availability

Credit Points

Coordinator

Prerequisites

Admission to fourth-year Political Science.

Contact

Subject Description

The work of Edward Said has been central to recent critiques of conventional area studies and to the emergence of many post-colonial voices. The subject examines his post-structuralist credentials, revealing a somewhat more conventional figure. More worrying, however, is the fact that it reveals serious weaknesses in the notion of Orientalism itself. This subject attempts to resurrect a notion of Orientalism which takes Foucault seriously. To construct a broader vision of mainstreaming within Asian area studies by making the empirical domain the object of theoretical enquiry.

Assessment

Written work totalling 6000 words.