Orientalism: Uncovering the Opposite Gaze
Orientalism: Uncovering the Opposite Gaze
The Polonsky Salon
A conversation with Prof. Zeynep Çelik
about her recent book
Europe Knows Nothing about the Orient
A Critical Discourse from the East (1872-1932) (Koç University Press, 2021)
Hosted by: Dr. Ümit Kurt and Dr. Dotan Halevy
Polonsky Academy Fellows at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute
A century before the publication of Edward Said’s Orientalism (1978), a passionate discourse emerged in the Ottoman Empire, rebutting politicized Western representations of the East. Ottoman and early Turkish Republican intellectuals, well acquainted with the European political and cultural scene and charged with their own ideological agendas, deconstructed tired clichés about “the Orient.” In her new book, Zeynep Çelik recontextualizes Eurocentric studies, unearthing an important episode in modern Middle Eastern intellectual history and curating a selection of primary texts illustrating the debates.
Zeynep Çelik is Sakip Sabanci Visiting Professor at Columbia University and distinguished professor emerita at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
The Polonsky Salon is a new digital public platform at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute. Polonsky Fellows and alumni will host inspiring and internationally renowned academics to discuss new ideas and cutting-edge research from various disciplines in the humanities and social sciences.
6.4.22, 18:00-20:00