A theory developed by Palestinian-American scholar Edward Said in his influential 1978 book Orientalism. Said effectively redefined the term “Orientalism” to mean a constellation of false assumptions underlying Western attitudes toward North Africa and the Middle East. Those assumptions, Said argued, are manifest in the literary and artistic products of Western Europe and America in the 19th century. Video here. Web resources here and here.

Elisabeth Jerichau Baumann. An Egyptian Pot Seller at Gizeh. Oil on canvas. 1876-1878.  SMK, National Gallery of Denmark, Copenhagen.