Orientalism, Then and Now
Thursday, October 30, 6:00-8:00PM
Tufts Art Gallery, Aidekman Art Center
Speakers: Amahl Bishara, Ayesha Jalal, Beatrice Manz, Ina Baghdiantz McCabe
Moderator: Eva Hoffman

Summary

The Fares Center co-sponsored a Middle Eastern studies faculty panel discussion in conjunction with an art exhibition entitled "Empire and its Discontents" at the Tufts University Art Gallery. Eva Hoffman, director of Middle East Studies and professor of Art History at Tufts University, moderated the event.

Hoffman commenced the discussion by asserting that Edward Said's Orientalism changed the way we study the orient. According to Said, orientalism was a Western construct that had more to do with the West than the East in that it helped the West define and reassure itself. Not surprisingly, Hoffman contended, Said's theory was valuable especially in the field of visual arts. By and large, European visual arts aimed to vilify oriental culture and portray it as something that fell into ruin. Nevertheless, new artistic patterns emerging from both the East and the West are advancing complex orientalist notions that transcend the old dichotomies and polarities.

Ina Baghdiantz-McCabe, Darakjian Jafarian chair of Armenian History at Tufts University, suggested that the art on display points to a post-colonial era, one that escapes Said's analysis. She added that her research on the early-modern period was primarily focused on material and economic relations. She found that exotic imports fascinated Europeans long before colonization became a reality. These imports revolutionized the quality of life in Europe and changed moods and norms of behavior. In fact, the act of adopting and Europeanizing oriental habits and customs was not unusual during that time. In today's world, the opposite is taking place and Western commercial products are inundating world markets and shaping cultural values in ways never before imagined. This development has influenced artistic production especially in the East, which looks at the present hegemony of the West as a new form of imperialism and domination.

Beatrice Manz, professor of History at Tufts University talked about art as a form of fighting tyranny, both Eastern and Western. She suggested that the art displayed in the exhibition expresses a controversial struggle against both local and foreign tyrannies. Various artists expressed different preferences, with some choosing to highlight foreign tyranny and others choosing to highlight local tyranny.

Ayesha Jalal, Mary Richardson Professor of History at Tufts University, discussed satire as a post-colonial statement. She explained that in the process of critiquing the former imperial masters, post-colonial critics have been prone to fall into excesses. Doubtless, there is a wealth of discourse on imperial violence but very little talk of the violence and repression perpetuated by the post-colonial state. She suggested that the political culture of homegrown repression is in many ways much more difficult to resist. This is why political satire has gained tremendous traction in post-colonial societies. The inevitable outcome was a collage of tradition and modernity, tragedy and comedy, and a lovely blend of heroism and roguishness.

Amahl Bishara, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Tufts University, concluded the panel discussion. She stated that Said's work urged an analysis of how monolithic representation can cause tremendous damage. She added that Said was not challenging monolithic cultural constructs of the other, but rather trying to address the question of how culture and knowledge relate to power. Needless to say, Said provided the tools to examine the interplay between culture, knowledge, and power.

This event was generously sponsored by the Tufts Art Gallery, the Program for Middle Eastern Studies, the Fares Center, the International Relations Program, the Department of Art and Art History, the Department of History, and the Department of Anthropology.

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