AN INTRODUCTORY ESSAY TO ORIENTALISM

Orientalism is a science from one point of view, is an ideology for another. It is possible to say that orientalism is comprehended as an ideology in Turkey. Westernization an modernization stay behind this mental comprehension. As a civilization project, Westernization was not being a European but it was a project insisting to be like a European. If We ask the question of Shakespeare’s famous character changing like, the main problem was to be or like to be. To be a European means to take possession of a civilization for oneself wholly. To be like a European means to take possession of only one part of that civilization for oneself. To take possession of being a European wholly means to be aware of civilization is constructed by concepts. Whereas to take possession of being like a European partially, by symbols! Reformists admit that playing piano for a women and speaking French for men are sufficient to be a European. Whereas, these are just symbols and these indicate not to be a European but like a European. Unfortunately, it is so lately realized that to be a European is not signified by such symbols, but it is signified with a few concepts such as “Human Rights”, “Democracy” and “Civil society”

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