The Course of Discourse

A Critical Reflection on Said and Huntington

What?

Since the beginning of civilization, humans have been labeled and grouped together to have a better understanding of their origins, behaviors, traditions, and values. Anthropology consists of studying different classifications of groups to later achieve a better understanding of the similarities and differences communities have to one another. But by learning about other cultures, discourse is inevitable based on the work of ethnographers and their research. Fieldwork done by ethnographers from European countries is conducted with scientific goals in mind, but is often concluded with the perspective of only the ethnographers. During their studies, ethnographers have classified the individuals they observe as “the others”. An author from the Middle East, named Said, explains how the study of “the Orient” has led to an awareness to “the Other”. In Said’s writing, Orientalism, he distinguishes the concept of “the Orient,” by contrasting Orientalism with European civilization. According to Said,

“The Orient is not only adjacent to Europe; it is also the place of Europe’s greatest and richest and older colonies, the source of its civilizations and languages, its cultural contestant, and one of its deepest and most recurring images of the Other” (1).

By stating the Orient as “the other” in contrast with opposing countries, this label divides people into only two categories in Said’s writing— the Orient and the Occident. According to Said, Orientalism is defined by three meanings: academia, knowing similarities and differences amongst countries, and the power of discourse. The first meaning describes how information is presented and taught by researchers. An issue with this is how the research is taught by white Europeans and it is easy to believe and learn the discourse regarding marginalized groups. It is different to read and hear about different cultures, but experiencing that culture leads to subjective results. Cultures can be misinterpreted from possible bias and inexperience to other individuals in one culture. Orientalism is also defined by comparing and contrasting the Orient and the Occident. An example Said notes is, “..the Orient has helped to define Europe (or the West) as its contrasting image, idea, personality, and experience” (1). In order for the Orient to exist, the Occident must be acknowledged to differentiate the two. And lastly Orientalism is deemed by the discourse influenced by prior teachings. Said explains,

“..without examining Orientalism as a discourse one cannot possibly understand the enormously systematic discipline by which European culture was able to manage — and even produce — the Orient politically, sociologically, militarily, ideologically, scientifically, and imaginatively during the post-Enlightenment period” (3).

The differences between the Orient and the Occident aid in discerning the division between both groups. It is essential to understand the discourse, differentiations, and teachings regarding Orientalism to truly know the definition of the Orient by Said.

So what?

In Huntington’s writing titled, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order, he expresses the classifications of different countries regarding his preference of the “major powers of the world” and the countries lesser than those powers. He makes the distinction of the different countries by including a map of the different continents of the world and clustering them into labels, such as Islamic or Western. Huntington also states, “In this new world the most pervasive, important, and dangerous conflicts will not be between social classes, rich and poor, or other economically defined groups, but between peoples belonging to different cultural entities”. By highlighting the differences in culture as the main factor in distinguishing the groups of people in the world, this proves that Huntington is influenced by Orientalist discourse. Huntington explains how the major powers of the world after the Cold War consisted of the civilizations that showed advancement in technology and power. His choice of using the term “civilizations” to describe different countries can also prove that the nations he believes are superior are “civilized”. Huntington expresses, “In this new world, local politics is the politics of ethnicity; global politics is the politics of civilizations” (Huntington). By stating that global affairs are the politics of civilizations this statement belittles the nations not part of the major powers of the world. By deeming different nations to certain labels is not correct due to how not all groups in those areas are that label. An example is shown on the map that states India’s area as Hindu. Not all individuals in India are Hindu. Huntington expresses,

“Cultures can change, and the nature of their impact on politics and economics can vary from one period to another. Yet the major differences in political and economic development among civilizations are clearly rooted in their different cultures”.

This proves that Huntington determines the likeness of different countries and nations from what he believes are their cultures. Similar to the critiques discussed about ethnographers, Huntington deems these different countries based on his perceptions of what he knows about the people living in those areas on the map. Said’s writing conveys critiques against researchers and writers who are unknowingly influenced by discourse. Huntington’s writing proves that he acknowledges the diversity in cultures there are, but he does not conceptualize that a map should not label countries and nations under one category.

Now what?

Relevant to the news today, Donald Trump has created a platform against “illegal immigrants” coming from Mexico. Discourse regarding immigrants has a negative connotation and leaves individuals feeling threatened and endangered when watching the news. Trump has advocated for building a wall in between Mexico and the United States. This serves as a physical and metaphorical symbol of our relations to other cultures. My community partner is the Catholic Charities Kids Club located in the Canal area of Marin County. With Marin having the reputation of being an extremely wealthy community, amongst the large houses and fancy restaurants is the Canal area. The Canal area is heavily populated with Latino families with low-income. During our time at Kids Club, the students are guided with a schedule that consists of playtime, homework, and reading. The Kids Club organization aims to lower the achievement gap the Canal area is seen to have. This gap is caused by families having low-income and not being fluent English speakers. The students come home to environments not suitable for homework and silent reading. By having this program after school, the students are able to keep track of homework completion while practicing their reading skills before they can go home. These students have bright futures ahead of them and have the power to prove that the discourse affecting undocumented immigrants in the Canal area are incorrect.