Research Orientalism And Material Culture Theories (Term Paper Sample)

ORIENTALISM AND MATERIAL CULTURE THEORIES
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In his book, Orientalism, Edward Said expounds on the subject of orientalism and investigates certain false notions and ideologies that Western people have fabricated about Eastern civilizations. Orientalism theory as explained by Edward Said aims at investigating the West and demonstrating their western attitudes and perceptions towards the Eastern culture, beliefs and their customs. As Said writes, orientalism seeks to show how western artists, through their work, do not portray the real image of the Orient thus distorting the Eastern cultures by showing them as mysterious, mythical, dangerous and dark. The Western artists have a fascination with items from the East, for instance, Dutch painter Willem Kalf paints porcelain jars from China in his artwork. The theory interprets such artworks produced by European painters in the seventeenth century such as Johannes Vermeer and Willem Kalf, which have certain Western perceptions about the East.
Material culture entails all the physical and spatial characteristics that define people and their characte...