Defending the West
Subtitle: a critique of Edward Said's Orientalism
By: Ibn Warraq.
Publisher: Prometheus Books
Published: 2007
Place of publication: Amherst, N.Y
Language: eng
Number of pages: 556
ISBN-13: 9781591024842
Subjects: Said, Edward W; Orientalism; East and West; Asia -- Study and teaching; Middle East -- Study and teaching
Description: "This is the first systematic critique of Edward Said's influential work Orientalism, a book that for almost three decades has received wide acclaim in both the East and the West, voluminous commentary by scholars, and translation into more than fifteen languages." "In this thorough reconsideration of Said's famous work, Ibn Warraq argues that Said's case against the West is seriously flawed. Warraq accuses Said of not only willfully misinterpreting the work of many scholars but also of systematically misrepresenting Western civilization as a whole. With example afer example, Warraq shows that from the time of the ancient Greeks, Western civilization has always had a strain in its very makeup that accepted non-Westerners and has always been open to foreign ideas. Warraq also criticizes Said for inadequate methodology, incoherent arguments, and a faulty understanding of history. He points out not only Said's tendentious interpretations but also historical howlers that would make a sophomore blush."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.