Beyond Orientalism: reimagining the oriental other in Western travel writings
Pourya Asl, Moussa; Pourgharib, Behzad; Hamkhiyal, Soleyman (2024-03-28)
Avaa tiedosto
Sisältö avataan julkiseksi: 28.09.2025
Taylor & Francis
28.03.2024
Pourya Asl, M., Pourgharib, B., & Hamkhiyal, S. (2024). Beyond Orientalism: reimagining the oriental other in Western travel writings. Asian Ethnicity, 25(4), 588–606. https://doi.org/10.1080/14631369.2024.2334870
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
© 2024 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Accepted Manuscript version of the following article, accepted for publication in Asian Ethnicity. Pourya Asl, M., Pourgharib, B., & Hamkhiyal, S. (2024). Beyond Orientalism: reimagining the oriental other in Western travel writings. Asian Ethnicity, 25(4), 588–606. https://doi.org/10.1080/14631369.2024.2334870. It is deposited under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
© 2024 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Accepted Manuscript version of the following article, accepted for publication in Asian Ethnicity. Pourya Asl, M., Pourgharib, B., & Hamkhiyal, S. (2024). Beyond Orientalism: reimagining the oriental other in Western travel writings. Asian Ethnicity, 25(4), 588–606. https://doi.org/10.1080/14631369.2024.2334870. It is deposited under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:oulu-202504152679
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:oulu-202504152679
Tiivistelmä
Abstract
The representation of Islamic societies in life narratives by Western voyagers has long been a subject of criticism for their allegedly prejudiced and demeaning portrayal. These narratives are often accused of perpetuating Orientalist discourses and reinforcing Islamophobia. This article problematizes such myopic perspectives by demonstrating how a western-produced travelogue can move beyond hackneyed cultural clichés on the Orient and present an Eastern culture in its opulence. We examine Jürgen Wasim Frembgen’s Nocturnal Music in the Land of the Sufis: The Unheard Pakistan (Frembgen, 2012), which documents the German writer’s mystical journeys into the musical worlds of Pakistan. Drawing upon Bhabha’s concepts of mimicry and hybridity as well as Said’s theory of Orientalism, we argue that the book contests prevailing discourses on western travelogues as apparatuses to reinforce Islamophobia and Orientalism, and instead portrays the country as a dream land that is enriched with olfactory, visual, and auditory appeals.
The representation of Islamic societies in life narratives by Western voyagers has long been a subject of criticism for their allegedly prejudiced and demeaning portrayal. These narratives are often accused of perpetuating Orientalist discourses and reinforcing Islamophobia. This article problematizes such myopic perspectives by demonstrating how a western-produced travelogue can move beyond hackneyed cultural clichés on the Orient and present an Eastern culture in its opulence. We examine Jürgen Wasim Frembgen’s Nocturnal Music in the Land of the Sufis: The Unheard Pakistan (Frembgen, 2012), which documents the German writer’s mystical journeys into the musical worlds of Pakistan. Drawing upon Bhabha’s concepts of mimicry and hybridity as well as Said’s theory of Orientalism, we argue that the book contests prevailing discourses on western travelogues as apparatuses to reinforce Islamophobia and Orientalism, and instead portrays the country as a dream land that is enriched with olfactory, visual, and auditory appeals.
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Ellei muuten mainita, aineiston lisenssi on https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/