The concept imaginable (also called as imaginative) geography comes from Edward Said, especially his work on criticism on Orientalism. In this context, "imagined" does not mean "wrong" or "contrived," but is used synonymously with "perception". The imagined geography refers to the perception of space created through certain images, texts, and/or discourses.
The imagined geography can be seen as a form of social constructionism that is equivalent to Benedict Anderson's imaginative community concept. Edward Said's idea of ​​Orientalism is tied to the turbulent dynamics of contemporary history. Orientalism is often referred to as degrading perception and Western depictions of the East, but more specifically in Islamic countries and Confucians. Orientalism has also been labeled as the cornerstone of postcolonial studies.
Although often built at the national level, the imagined geography also occurs domestically in countries and locally within regions, cities, etc.
Video Imagined geographies
Orientalisme
In his book Orientalism, Edward Said argues that Western culture has produced an "Orient" view based on a certain imagination, popularized through Oriental academic studies, travel writing, anthropology and the colonial view of the Orient. This imagination includes an oriented painting as feminine - however, Said's view of gender has been criticized by other scholars because of the limited exploration of the constructs.
In a 1993 lecture located at York University, Toronto, Canada, Said emphasized the role that culture plays in imperialism and colonialism based on Orientalism. By differentiating and lifting the national culture above the others, the "other thing" validation process is done. This process underlies the imagined geography like orientalism because it creates a pre-set of prejudices for self-serving purposes. In establishing itself as a superior, the imperial power or colonial agent is able to justify its actions as necessary or beneficial to "others".
Despite the wide scope and influence of orientalism as imagined geography, and the process of underlying "othering" is discursive and thus normalized in dominant Western societies. It is in this sense that orientalism can be reinforced in cultural texts such as art, film, literature, music, etc. Where a one dimensional and often backward construction applies. The main source of the cinematic example is the documentary film Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People . The film shows the process of "othering" centric orientalism in Western films from the silent era to modern classics like Disney's Aladdin . The inferior, backward, and culturally rigid construction of Oriental "others" is normalized in the minds of Western consumers of cultural texts; reinforcing beliefs or assumptions that are racist or insensitive.
In Orientalism, Said says that Orientalism is a geography imagined because a) Europe creates a culture for the whole 'Orient', and b) 'Orient' is determined by the text and not by 'Orienting'.
Maps Imagined geographies
Theory
The word is strongly influenced by the French philosopher Michel Foucault, and those who have developed the imagined geography theory have connected these together. Foucault states that strength and knowledge are always intertwined. Said then developed the idea of ​​the relationship between power and description. Such imaginable geography is seen as a tool of power, a means of controlling and subordinating regions. Power is seen in the hands of those who have the right to foresee what they imagine. Most imaginable geography is based on myths and legends, often depicting "others" are terrible. Edward Said explained that: "Europe is strong and articulate, Asia is defeated and far away."
Further authors have been greatly influenced by the imagined geography concept including Derek Gregory and GearÃÆ'³id ÃÆ' â € Å"Tuathail. Gregory argues that War on Terror shows the continuation of the same geographies Said talks about. He claims that the Islamic world is described as uncivilized; it was branded as backward and failed. This justifies, in the view of those who imagine, the military intervention that has been seen in Afghanistan and Iraq. Edward Said mentions that when Islam emerged in Europe in the Middle Ages, its response was conservative and defensive. "Tuathail argues that geopolitical knowledge is the imagined forms of geography By using the example of Halford Mackinder Heartland Theory, he has shown how the presentation of Eastern Europe/Western Russia as a major geopolitical area after World War I affects actions such as Polish recreation and the Polish Corridor in the Treaty Versailles 1918.
This theory has also been used to criticize some geographical areas created; both historically and contemporarily - for example is the work of Mary Todorova Imagining Balkan . Samuel P. Huntington's Clash of Civilizations has also been criticized as showing the entire imagined geography. The "imperial view" of Halford Mackinder has also been debated as an importantly imagined geography [1] which emphasizes the importance of the British Empire over colonial society, and affirms the geographical "expert" view with the "eye of God".
References
- Huntington, Samuel, 1991, Clash of Civilizations
- Gregory, Derek, 2004, The Colonial Present , Blackwell
- Marx, Karl, [1853] "English Rules in India" in Macfie, A. L. (ed.), 2000, Orientalism: Readers , Edinburgh University Press
- ÃÆ' "'Tuathail, Gearoid, 1996, Critical Geopolitics: Global Space Writing , Routines
- Said, Edward, [1978] 1995, Orientalism , Penguin Books
- Mohnike, Thomas, 2007, Imaginierte Geographien , Ergon-Verlag
- Say, Edward. [1979] "Geography of Imagination and Its Representation: Stunning Oriental." Orientalism. New York: Vintage,
- Sharp, Joanne P. [2009]. "Postcolonialism geography." Sage Publications: London.
See also
- An imagined community
- India (Herodotus)
- Lila Abu-Lughod
- Onei
- Michel Foucault
- Imagination Geography
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments