H-Asia

I started reading a long thread on "Orientalism" in H-Asia. It initially began with a post talking about a writer, E. Said, whose theories about Orientalism didn't apply to the western perception of China and Japan because he compared European actions only with middle eastern countries, and he wanted to look at more western thought of China and Japan. He got a lot of responses for secondary sources that critiqued Said and more material about western relations with China and Japan. People started attacking the idea of Orientalism more and more. One professor pointed out that now there are more teachers who are from Asia, and the Orient isn't as alien as it was in WWII.
It was interesting to see the discussions go from many bookish resources into more philosophical discussions. Many people wanted to give Said some credit for writing what he did. They defended his writing and credited him with his contribution. Even the initial asker. He also began discussing the difference between western culture and Asian cultures which was very interesting. The debates went back and forth between people about how China and western cultures differed and why.
Megan Fotheringham