"Speaking Back to Orientalist Discourse" - Zeynep Celik
The text cleverly starts was a poem by the Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet that criticizes European imperialism. The poet was part of the Ottoman intellectual movement at the turn-of-the-century that spoke back to the Orientalist discourse. It was mostly against the many misconceptions there were. Celik's approach from the side of the Orientals was to show another side of the discourse. For example, the book Avrupa'da Bir Cevelan by the Ottoman writer Ahmed Mithad Afendi handles the stereotypical image that circulates about the Oriental women. He spoke against the European fantasy that they were like slaves only meant for pleasure. He gives us the real 'truth' and deconstructs that false hierarchy. The big first case study is on Ottoman painter Osman Handi. He studied in Paris so had influences of the school but still, he could provide a critique on major themes in the Orientalist paintings. He represented Islam for example as a religion that encourages intellectuals. But al...
