The dismissal of Palestinians as “barbaric” or somehow less human is rooted in a long history of colonizing narratives, including how the land and people were first viewed as “uncivilized.”
Countless memoirs have been published by US and British veterans in the 20 years since the Iraq War began in March 2003. Iraqi journalist Ghaith Abdul-Ahad offers a fresh perspective.
Edward Said’s seminal 1978 book, Orientalism, explores how often racist or romanticised stereotypes create a worldview that justifies Western colonialism and imperialism.
Siang Lu’s debut novel suggests whitewashing Asians for the screen is profitable. ‘People pay to see foreignness repackaged as stereotypes – and thus rendered virtually invisible.’
Sound and its subtle, malleable possibilities for interpretation can be a valuable tool for those trying to capture pasts that have been erased, marginalised or forgotten.
Controversy over a Chinese study that used CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology shows how the West still looks at the East through the lens of Orientalism.