nerd teacher [books] reviewed Orientalism by Edward Said (Penguin Modern Classics)
Interesting in Chunks.
3 stars
Overwhelmingly, I rather enjoyed having a historiography and exploration of orientalism presented to me in this form. There were chunks of it that I found massively intriguing and connections I either hadn't previously thought to make or been introduced to that I appreciate learning about.
My one major problem with this book is how much of it is in French or German (but mostly French) without a translation anywhere, which is something that I find perplexing because of how often this book is touted as being the "most accessible" resource on orientalism. Similarly, it often jumps into certain sources as if there is an expectation to have engaged with them; this is something else I'm not super fond of, even if it did prompt me to look into them further as I was reading. But it made for moments where I felt like I couldn't really lock-in and focus …
Overwhelmingly, I rather enjoyed having a historiography and exploration of orientalism presented to me in this form. There were chunks of it that I found massively intriguing and connections I either hadn't previously thought to make or been introduced to that I appreciate learning about.
My one major problem with this book is how much of it is in French or German (but mostly French) without a translation anywhere, which is something that I find perplexing because of how often this book is touted as being the "most accessible" resource on orientalism. Similarly, it often jumps into certain sources as if there is an expectation to have engaged with them; this is something else I'm not super fond of, even if it did prompt me to look into them further as I was reading. But it made for moments where I felt like I couldn't really lock-in and focus on the book.