/lit/ - Literature

Edward Said is rolling over in his grave over what these people did to his field.

I just started this, but I only got the chance to read a few pages.

>>6930378
I really want to read this too. How much do I have to understand Lacan, Hegel, and Althusser, etc. in order to get it?

>>6320740
Most Christians don't know or care who Martian Luther is either. If you ask a random American on the street They will probably confuse him with Dr King. All they know, and all they need to know, is that some guy named Jesus died for your sins, and that you can get to heaven by accepting his love.

Similarly, all you need to know to be a Buddhist is that some guy named Buddha figured out why people were unhappy and you can be like him if you stop obsessing over material things and live a mindful existence.

How do you think Chinese and Japanese became Buddhists? It's an Indian religion, they weren't at all familiar with the Hinduism it was a reaction too. And yet today china and Japan are mostly Buddhist countries.
Or do you think that Chinese and Indian culture are somehow connected because they are both eastern, while European and American culture are vastly different because they are western?


I called you racist because you are being orientalist. The east is not some strange exotic land. You can read about Buddhism in books written by Buddhism for the express purpose of teaching new followers the basics, because like most religions, it's followers Proselytize. Christianity is expanding into Asia as well, that's how culture works. East/West is an outdated idea, and has been ever since the late 19th century.
The Ottoman empire no longer cockblocks trade between asia and Europe, and Japan toyed with being a European style colonial power before settling on exporting it's culture across the globe.

>>6252037
I know, but in general it feels like a lot of criticism of college buddhists seems to be founded on the idea that a westerner can't REALLY understand Buddhism because Buddhism is "exotic" and "oriental" and that he should stick to good old fashioned western thought.

I think the same about most of the things people call "Cultural appropriation." These complaints are often made by people who consider themselves multi-cultural, but in the end it's just echoing 19th century orientalist troupes about how the east is somehow fundamentally mysterious.

Sure brief summaries won't be sufficient, but if somebody is legitimately interested, it's not like they can't find actual reliable information. Buddhism, like any religion, wants to spread.

Good evening friends!

I need some help for an Essay. It is a "Lens essay". I have to use Said's Orientalism as lens to analyze detective fiction.

I've asked for some guidance from my professor, but my Idea of "Influence" (Said) is to broad to apply to a detective fiction.

Can anyone spare some help?

I just started reading this cause its been so god damn influential and people won't shut up about it. What does /lit/ think about this book?

>>4565777


pretty much any work themed or concerning middle eastern milieus after said's book came out is devalidated with 'muh orientalism' by modern puritans eager for new ways to peacock their moral superiority to everyone.

What're /lit/'s thoughts on Orientalism/Edward Said?

I haven't read any of his other stuff, but Orientalism was extremely thought-provoking. That said, holy fuck, did it need a good editor. Around the halfway point, it stopped being a critique of the dominant Western understanding of the Eastern "Other" and more a list of things Said liked (philology, always fucking philology) and disliked (a whole shitload of 19th century French writers), but he keeps making enough good points here and there to keep you going.

>>2064438

Huntingtonian clash of civilizations nonsense. As trite as this point may seem, we really are conditioned by the media and certain parts of academia to view other peoples as essentially "different" and monolithic. It's self-fulfilling prophecy at its worst.

Would /lit/ recommend this book?

Also...dat ass...

>>750144

Fuck colonialism

>>508980
Good luck with post-colonialism fading away as long as people are still reading this