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Arabian Nights Guide For Educators
Arabian Nights Guide For Educators
In Wisconsin
A Resource Guide for Educators
Lecture Points
Each unit in this guide contains a set of lecture points. These are the ideas and concepts we
recommend you cover in class, but you should feel free to add, adjust and customize these
ideas to fit your own goals and objectives for the unit. Since every teacher has a different
teaching preparation style, we just provide some basic tools here the goal was to provide
enough information that teachers who wanted to could construct an entire unit out of the
materials, but leave room for flexibility and adaptation to different course and teaching needs.
Whatever your approach, lecture should always model the sort of close reading you want the
students to perform by using as many examples from the text as possible to support and
reinforce your points.
The Foreword to The Arabian Nights states that the stories are meant to provide
both instruction and entertainment. How is this attitude toward literature expressed
in the stories for this unit?
After reading the frame story and the other stories in the unit, compare various
translations using the Adventures in Translation handout.
What makes a good translation?
Which translation do you prefer?
How does the use of a different but similar word affect the meaning and tone of a
text?
What are the implications of suppressing material, such as explicit language and
content, in a translation?
Haddawys translation is the closest to the Arabic text, while both Lane and Burton
have taken some serious liberties with their source material. What have Lane and
Burton added? What have they omitted? What reasons can you suggest for this?
How is the character of Shahzaman affected by the different translations?
Assignment and Project Ideas:
Reading/Response Journal. Now is a good time to ask your students to keep a
reflection journal in which they respond to the text and material covered in class. You
might ask them to write 1-2 pages of personal response to the text, to find points of
identification or highlight confusing or problematic passages. Or you could use the
discussion questions in these lesson plans to create your own guided journal a
handout of prompts to which you require the students to respond when reading each
series of tales. This could be an on-going project, a group activity, or an in-class writing
assignment at the end of each class period.
Have students write an essay in which they reflect on the power of language to create
perception, if possible giving examples of words in other languages which cannot be
translated precisely into English. Students who speak another language well can provide
a translation of a passage and reflect on their experience as translators.
Research on the Islamic Golden Age: Request students to research various aspects of
the Islamic world during the Abbasid era, particularly in Baghdad, its cultural and
political center. Philosophy, science, literature, the arts and daily life are all excellent
topics. Other good topics for research include the Abbasid dynasty, the relationship
between the Islamic and Christian regions of the world in the Middle Ages, and of
course the court of Harun al-Rashid.
Suggestions for expanding this unit
The great Moroccan traveler Ibn Battuta left wonderful accounts of his extensive
journeys throughout the Islamic world in the fourteenth century. Incorporating his
descriptions of the region into a lecture on The Arabian Nights is one way to bring the
historical setting to life. You can find an overview and excerpts of his writings here:
http://www.ummah.net/history/scholars/ibn_battuta/
http://www.isidore-of-seville.com/ibn-battuta/index.html
Teaching The Arabian Nights in Wisconsin
A Resource Guide by Sofia Samatar
The Orient was almost a European invention, and had been since antiquity a place
of romance, exotic beings, haunting memories and landscapes, remarkable
experiences.
- Edward Said (From Orientalism, in The Edward Said Reader,67)
Readings and Resources:
Introduction to Orientalism by Edward Said
Emory Universitys Orientalism page:
http://www.english.emory.edu/Bahri/Orientalism.html
Said on Orientalism:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwCOSkXR_Cw&feature=related
(This is Part 1 of an excellent 4-part series of interviews with Said)
The Utility of Islamic Imagery in the West by J.A. Progler: http://www.al-islam.org/altawhid/islamicimageryinwest.htm
Teaching The Arabian Nights in Wisconsin
A Resource Guide by Sofia Samatar
Lecture Points:
Introduce Edward Said and the concept of Orientalism
Orientalisms roots in British and French colonial efforts of the 18th and 19th centuries
Features of Orientalism: people from the East (which lumps together Asia, the Middle
East and sometimes even Russia) are:
o Weak
o Feminine
o Culturally backward
o Shifty and untrustworthy
o Exotic
o Seductive
o Unchanging
o Biologically inferior to Westerners
o Eager to be dominated
o Silenced (by religious extremists, oppressive governments and the veiling
of women)
o Etc.
Discuss stereotypes of people from the Middle East and Asia in the U.S. media,
particularly negative or exoticized images of Arabs
Discuss the pervasiveness of stereotypes, and ways to resist them
Present a reading of the stories for the unit that emphasizes their literary elements
rather than their exoticism. You might choose to focus on the idea of telling a tale to
save a life, and how this action in The Story of the Merchant and the Demon reflects
Shahrazads own efforts to survive through storytelling.
Handouts/presentation materials
Orientalism
Discussion Questions:
Why did Edward Said find it necessary to develop the concept of Orientalism?
When you think of The Arabian Nights, what images of the Middle East come to
mind? Where do these images come from?
Teaching The Arabian Nights in Wisconsin
A Resource Guide by Sofia Samatar
What are the images from the stories you have read so far that conform to the
stereotypes of Orientalism? Which images contradict these stereotypes?
Is there such a thing as a good stereotype?
Based on the translation discussion from Unit 1, how do various translations of the
Nights support or undermine stereotypes?
Consider Orientalism in reverse. If a non-Westerner came up with a perspective on
the West based on fairy tales, what might it look like?
Is it possible not to be affected by stereotypes? How can we resist them?
Note: We strongly encourage you to show clips or episodes from this series to your classes, as the creators of the
1001 Nights animated series, Shabnam Rezaei and Aly Jetha, will be the keynote speakers at our spring Student
Conference on April 6, 2011. Students familiar with the work are likely to get even more out of their presentation.
Teaching The Arabian Nights in Wisconsin
A Resource Guide by Sofia Samatar
Discuss the relationship between form and content in The Arabian Nights.
Explore reasons for the universal appeal of this type of story.
Provide examples of frame stories in literature and film, and elicit examples from
students.
Explore the idea of stopping time, or prolonging life, through storytelling.
Discuss the ideas of tradition and innovation in literature. The Nights is a good
starting point for such a discussion, as it is a very old body of work with what can be
regarded even in contemporary times as an innovative structure.
Lines of poetry, as well as tales, are embedded in the stories. Discuss their meaning
and function.
Discussion questions:
What is a story? Where do stories begin and end?
How do stories differ from poetry?
Are there limits on what form a story can take? If so, what are they?
What is a traditional story? What is avant-garde literature? How does The Arabian
Nights relate to these categories?
Are folk tales literature?
Why are people attracted to the form of stories within stories?
How do you personally respond to this structure?
What is the relationship between literature and experience? Between fairy tales and
experience?
Are there ways other than storytelling in which one experience is embedded in
another? What about dreams, role-playing games or the act of reading itself?
How long can the stories-within-stories structure be maintained? Is there a point
where it becomes too difficult to follow?
Can a work of literature be both challenging and entertaining? Is it necessary for it to
challenge us in order to keep our attention, or would we be better entertained by
something less demanding?
Assignment and Project Ideas:
Have students write an essay on an example of a frame story in literature or film, or
reflect on it in their journals.
This would be a great time to work in some creative writing. Have students write
their own stories with the frame story structure.
Suggestions for expanding this unit
This unit could be expanded by looking more closely at examples of frame stories. Use
the preparatory resources to find examples. A look at framing in film would be
particularly rich in opportunities for discussion. Inception, one of the summers biggest
hits, is a great example of stories within stories.
Teaching The Arabian Nights in Wisconsin
A Resource Guide by Sofia Samatar
How do the stories of the female characters in this unit relate to the frame story?
Find examples of transformation social or physical in this story. How are they
related?
What clues in the stories suggest that they were designed for a general audience
not just to amuse the rich and powerful?
Consider the absolute power of the rulers in the stories. How do the tales seek to
subvert that power?
Consider the idea of justice in the Nights. What sort of justice is promoted in the
tales? What sort of punishment? How are rulers called upon to administer justice?
In general, what sort of view do you think the Nights presents on women, slaves and
the poor?
Assignment and Project Ideas:
Ask students to reflect, in a journal entry or essay, on gender roles in The Arabian
Nights.
Ask students to write an essay on transformation physical and social in the
Nights.
Ask students to collect images of Arab women in the media. What sort of view is
being promoted here? How accurate is it?
Suggestions for expanding this unit
An excellent supplement to this unit would be a look at contemporary Muslim feminism.
Here are some resources to draw on:
Article on Islamic feminism: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7689897.stm
Two Muslim women discuss stereotypes:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4505480.stm
They Hate Women, Dont They? by Arzu Merali:
http://www.islamfortoday.com/women01.htm
My Body Is my Own Business by Naheed Mustafa: reflections of a young Canadian
Muslim woman: http://www.jannah.org/sisters/naheed.html
Unit 5: Romance
There are many meanings of the word romance. This unit uses the word to refer to the genre of
stories which arose in medieval times. As some of the preparatory readings point out, many of the
ideals we associate with this genre such as generosity, leniency to conquered enemies, and courtly
love have their roots in Arab traditions of the Middle Ages. The Story of the Two Viziers in The
Arabian Nights shows several elements of this genre. Thus, it is not only delightful in itself, but
useful as a starting point for discussions of the genre of medieval romance.
Stories:
The Story of the Three Apples; The Story of the Two Viziers, Nur al-Din Ali al-Misri and Badr alDin Hasan al-Basri
Objective:
To examine medieval romance as a genre and the way it relates to The Arabian Nights
Preparatory Reading:
A Comic Romance from The Thousand and One Nights: The Tale of Two Viziers by
Andras Hamori, Norton Crit., p. 453
Muruah and the Code of Chivalry by Habeeb Salloum:
http://chivalrytoday.com/arabian-knights/
Article on the concepts of chivalry and courtly love, noting their Arab roots:
http://members.tripod.com/aaron_neilson/romance.html
Characteristics of medieval romance:
http://www.loyno.edu/~MidAges/medievalromance.html
Arab Civilization: Influence on the West by M. Kent Mayfield:
http://secondwindarabians.net/images/ArabCivilization.pdf
Handouts/presentation materials:
What is Romance?
Lecture points:
Present the characteristics of the medieval romance and note how it differs from the
contemporary romance novel genre.
Show how Arabic literary traditions influenced Europe during the Middle Ages
Discuss romantic elements in The Story of the Two Viziers, including:
o The idea of true love, expressed in the poem on p. 216, Norton
o Imaginary setting while names of cities are mentioned, the story is not in
any sense realistic
o Supernatural elements, such as the two demons
o Disguised identity: Badr al-Din becomes a cook
Discuss the relationship of the romance genre to the gender issues discussed in the
previous unit
Discuss the relationship of Badr al-Din to his son Ajib
Discuss the role of fate in The Story of the Two Viziers
Discussion Questions:
What is romance? How is the word used differently in different contexts?
Physical beauty is often stressed in medieval romances (see Norton p. 205-213). Do you
consider this a positive or negative trait? Why?
How does the concept of chivalry relate to gender issues? Can chivalry and feminism
coexist?
How is the relationship of Badr al-Din and his son Ajib romantic?
Prophecy and fate play a part in many Arab and European medieval romances. What
role does fate play in The Story of the Two Viziers?
Assignment and Project Ideas:
Have students compare The Story of the Two Viziers to another medieval romance with
which they are familiar, such as one of the King Arthur stories.
As a creative writing exercise, have students write a modern romance story that
challenges the genre in some way.
Ask students to find material from contemporary life (films, magazines, advertizing) that
conforms to the ideals of medieval romance.
Unit 6: Humor
Humor is used in various ways in both literature and life. It can provide mild entertainment, as
with puns, or pursue a political aim, as with many forms of satire. We have come across
humorous incidents in The Arabian Nights already, such as the episode of Badr al-Dins wedding
(Norton, p. 213 219). In The Story of the Hunchback and the tales embedded in it, several
types of humor are brought into play: the absurdity of the behavior of the stewards bride
(Norton, p. 284), the ironic name of the Silent One by which the barber is known in The
Tailors Tale, and the slapstick incidents of the frame story of the hunchback. Humor entertains
in these stories, but it also serves a moral function by poking fun at undesirable characteristics
such as intolerance, the inability to perceive ones own failings, and the desire to escape justice.
Stories:
The Story of the Hunchback; The Christian Brokers Tale; The Stewards Tale; The Tailors Tale
Objective:
To examine the role of humor in The Arabian Nights, and form ideas about the use of humor in
literature
Preparatory Reading:
Web page on humor in literature, with ideas for lessons:
http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/29069.aspx
Web page on humor theory: http://www.humortheory.com/index.php/humor-ofthe-mind/3669
Fun article on Juha, a comical character from Arabic folklore:
http://www.internationalstudentjournal.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/04/01/406
dd9e7619ee
Lecture points:
Using the resources above, discuss different types of humor.
Note that humor is often the last thing people can get in a foreign language, and
discuss the implications for reading humorous works in translation.
Discuss the humorous incidents in the stories for the unit. What purpose do they
serve?
Discuss the limits of humor, in terms of both subject matter and style.
Explore examples of humor in life as well as literature, and the aims behind them.
Discussion Questions:
How well does humor move across time, space and language? Are the stories in The
Arabian Nights funny?
Teaching The Arabian Nights in Wisconsin
A Resource Guide by Sofia Samatar
Go back to the Adventures in Translation handout from Unit 1. Which style lends
itself most easily to humor? Which translation would you guess is the funniest?
What sorts of problems does this raise?
How can humor be used to achieve a purpose? Are there some goals that cannot be
accomplished through humor?
Are some forms of humor unacceptable? How do we view the use of hunchbacks
as comic characters?
Why would humor be used to deliver a moral message? Why not just state the
message directly?
Assignment and Project Ideas:
Have students reflect on a funny story or joke. What makes it funny?
You could also have them analyze a joke that fell flat. What makes humor fail?
Skits: Divide students into groups and give them a few minutes to develop short skits
in which they must use props you provide. Giving them props that dont fit together,
or incongruous roles, will generate funnier skits.
Suggestions for expanding this unit
Comedy in the Arab/Muslim world: Muslim societies are often viewed as intolerant and
humorless. A good way of expanding this lesson would be to have your students look for
Arabic comedy skits on Youtube. There are many short videos with English subtitles.
Comedy can yield surprising insights and provide a starting point for discussions of
culture although, of course, you should make sure your students keep in mind that
people in funny shows are trying to be funny, not represent their societies!
Stories:
The Story of Sindbad the Sailor
Objective:
To examine the impact of The Arabian Nights as a starting point to a discussion of literary
influences and intertextuality
Lecture points:
Define intertextuality and literary influence
Examine the ways the Nights is incorporated into The Thousand-and-Second Tale of
Scheherazade, Remembrance of Things Past and The Dreams of Scheherazade
Discuss the relationship between Orientalism and the use of The Arabian Nights in
Western literature and film
Discuss the implications of using material from another culture.
Teaching The Arabian Nights in Wisconsin
A Resource Guide by Sofia Samatar
Discussion Questions:
Does the use of The Arabian Nights in the examples from Western literature differ
from its use in Taha Husseins The Dreams of Scheherazade? If so, how?
How are Orientalist stereotypes perpetuated through new adaptations of The
Arabian Nights?
What is involved in producing a creative project based on material from another
culture? How can it be done well?
Is it possible to steal ideas? What considerations impact the use of other peoples
ideas?
Should moral issues such as the use of negative stereotypes affect how art is
judged?
The Story of Sindbad the Sailor did not form part of Shahrazads story in Arabic.
Should it have been included in the Norton Critical edition? Why do you think the
editor chose to include it?
How does The Story of Sindbad fit into the text? What motifs might link it to the
other stories?
Web page for the Tates exhibition The Lure of the East:
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/exhibitions/britishorientalistpainting/default.shtm
Creative Writing
Academic Writing
Poetry Collection
Travel Diary or Reading
Journal
Childrens Book
Graphic novel/comic
Broadcast Journalism
Literary Analysis
Speech
Close Reading Essay
Comparison Essay
Investigative Interview or
profile
News broadcast
Sitcom episode
TV talk show
Scene from a film
Radio program
Web
Podcast
Website
Wiki entry
Blog
Interactive map (Flash)
Print Journalism
Interview
Magazine article
Newspaper
Travel guide
Yearbook
Other
Puzzle
Diagram
Research Project
Remember: Successful projects are both creative and critical, imaginative and intellectual.
Who will do what? Describe the role each group member will play.
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Project timeline (What will happen when? Ask your teacher for specific deadlines).
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What equipment or materials do you need to complete your project?
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What resources or materials are you expecting your teacher to help provide?
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What equipment will you need to present your project at the conference? Be specific.
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Teaching The Arabian Nights in Wisconsin
A Resource Guide by Sofia Samatar
On the text:
Arabian Nights Books
http://www.arabiannightsbooks.com/main.do
Information on the origins, illustrators and translators of the Nights.
Sir Richard Burtons translation online
http://www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/arabnit.htm
Arabian Nights Study Guide
http://novaonline.nvcc.edu/eli/eng251/arabstudy.htm
From Northern Virginia Community College. Includes some ideas for activities.
The Electronic Literature Foundations Arabian Nights Page
http://www.arabiannights.org/index2.html
Selected tales in Andrew Langs translation.
Journal of the 1001 Nights
http://journalofthenights.blogspot.com/
Resource for scholarship on The Arabian Nights. Maintained by Michael Lundell, a PhD
candidate in English Literature, this is probably the most comprehensive source of
information on the text available online.
Scheherazades Web: The Arabian Nights and Comparative Literature
http://www.dinarzade.blogspot.com/
Literary site maintained by Jack Ross of Massey University. Contains articles on the links
between The Arabian Nights and Western literature.
Teaching The Arabian Nights: Arabic Storytelling and American Orientalism
http://www.digitalinnovations.ucla.edu/2007/ccc/projects/Slyomovics.htm
Website of a UCLA course on the Nights. Includes link to a video of Arabic storytelling.
Course Guide to Whose Arabian Nights? Islamic, Arab, Persian and Western Visions
http://faculty.ccp.edu/dept/humanities/humanitiesf/giddle.htm
Designed for college students at the Community College of Philadelphia, this course
guide contains ideas that could be adapted for high school students.
The Arabian Nights: A Play by Mary Zimmerman (pamphlet)
http://www.openstagetheatre.org/images/piece/arabiannights.pdf
A pamphlet on the play prepared by the Open State Theatre and Company. Contains
concise background information on the text of The Arabian Nights, the play based on it,
and the playwright.
Current debates on the text of The Arabian Nights in Egypt may also be of interest:
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2010/06/09/110883.html
Scholarly Works
World Literature/s Research Workshop
http://global.wisc.edu/worldlit/
An excellent resource for teaching world literature, with pdf files of articles for
downloading.
The Arabian Nights in English Literature: Studies in the Reception of The Thousand and
One Nights into British Culture. Peter L. Caracciolo (ed.) (Macmillan, London, 1988). A
useful companion to a study of British Orientalism and the influence of the Nights.
The Encyclopedia of Fantasy. John Clute and John Grant (eds.) (Orbit, London, 1997). A
guide to the literature of the fantastic, with explanations of different types of fantasy.
A Motif Index of The Thousand and One Nights. Hasan M. El-Shamy (Indiana University
Press, Bloomington, Indiana, 2006). A guide to the motifs of The Arabian Nights,
particularly helpful for the study of structure.
Night and Horses and the Desert: The Penguin Anthology of Classical Arabic Literature.
Robert Irwin (Penguin, London, 2000). An insightful and highly readable anthology
offering a broad view of Arabic literary traditions.
The Art of Story-Telling: A Literary Study of The Thousand and One Nights. Mia I.
Gerhardt (Leiden: Brill, 1963). Classic study with attention to structure; see excerpt in
the Norton edition.
Performing A Thousand and One Nights in Egypt. Susan Slyomovics (Oral Tradition,
9/2 (1994): 390-419). Comparative study of oral and written forms of the text. Available
here: http://journal.oraltradition.org/files/articles/9ii/11_slyomovics.pdf
Story-Telling Techniques in The Arabian Nights. David Pinault (Leiden: Brill, 1992).
Literary study with particular attention to the following: The Story of the Fisherman and
the Demon; The Story of the Three Apples; Harun al-Rashid and his vizier; the role of
demons and hunchbacks.
New Perspectives on Arabian Nights: Ideological Variations and Narrative Horizons.
Wen-chin Ouyang & Geert Jan van Gelder (eds) (London: Routledge, 2005). Collection of
essays with an interdisciplinary approach. Includes essays on The Arabian Nights in
different cultural settings (France, Argentina, Southeast Asia) and media (film, popular
literature, contemporary fiction).
The Arabian Nights in Transnational Perspective. Ulrich Marzolph (ed.) (Detroit,
Michigan: Wayne State University Press, 2007). This collection includes essays on a
variety of topics, including frame narratives, political thought in The Arabian Nights,
translation, and modern oral performance of the Nights in Afghanistan.
The Arabian Nights Reader. Ulrich Marzolph (ed.) (Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State
University Press, 2007). This collection includes good background essays, several of
which are found in the Norton Critical Edition. One article which unfortunately did not
get into Norton is Shahrazad Feminist by Fedwa Malti-Douglas.
Sheherazade Through the Looking Glass: The Metamorphosis of The Thousand and
One Nights. Eva Sallis (Richmond: Curzon, 1999). Historical study placing The Arabian
Nights in context and tracing its changes through translation into European languages.
The Thousand and One Nights: Space, Travel and Transformation. Richard van
Leeuwen (London: Routledge, 2007). Discusses the themes of space and travel in The
Arabian Nights.
II.
Graphic Novels:
Our Kingdom Arabian Night by Naduki Koujima:
http://www.animecastle.com/p-127584-our-kingdom-arabian-nights-graphicnovel.aspx
Fables: Arabian Nights and Days by Bill Willingham:
http://www.dccomics.com/vertigo/graphic_novels/?gn=5273
Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall by Bill Willingham
Image
Theme
Symbol
Satire
Personification
Motif
Adventures in Translation
Compare these translations of an excerpt from The Arabian Nights.
1. Edward Lane (1859)
Now the Sultan Schahriar had a wife whom he loved more than all the world, and his
greatest happiness was to surround her with splendour, and to give her the finest
dresses and the most beautiful jewels. It was therefore with the deepest shame and
sorrow that he accidentally discovered, after several years, that she had deceived him
completely, and her whole conduct turned out to have been so bad, that he felt himself
obliged to carry out the law of the land, and order the grand-vizir to put her to death.
2. Richard Burton (1885)
On the fourth day [Shahzaman] made ready for wayfare and got together sumptuous
presents befitting his elder brother's majesty, and stablished his chief Wazir Viceroy of
the land during his absence. Then he caused his tents and camels and mules to be
brought forth and encamped, with their bales and loads, attendants and guards, within
sight of the city, in readiness to set out next morning for his brother's capital. But when
the night was half-spent he bethought him that he had forgotten in his palace
somewhat which he should have brought with him, so he returned privily and entered
his apartments, where he found the Queen, his wife, asleep on his own carpet bed
embracing with both arms a black cook of loathsome aspect and foul with kitchen
grease and grime. When he saw this the world waxed black before his sight and he said:
"If such case happen while I am yet within sight of the city, what will be the doings of
this damned whore during my long absence at my brother's court?" So he drew his
scimitar, and cutting the two in four pieces with a single blow, left them on the carpet
and returned presently to his camp without letting anyone know of what had happened.
3. Husain Haddawy (1990)
For ten full days [Shahzaman] prepared himself for the journey; then he appointed a
chamberlain in his place, and left the city to spend the night in his tent, near the vizier.
At midnight he returned to his palace in the city, to bid his wife goodbye. But when he
entered the palace, he found his wife lying in the arms of one of the kitchen boys. When
he saw them, the world turned dark before his eyes and, shaking his head, he said to
himself, I am still here, and this is what she has done when I am barely outside the city.
How will it be and what will happen behind my back when I go to visit my brother in
India? No. Women are not to be trusted. He got exceedingly angry, adding, By God, I
am king and sovereign in Samarkand, yet my wife has betrayed me and has inflicted this
on me. As his anger boiled, he drew his sword and struck both his wife and the cook.
Then he dragged them by the heels and threw them from the top of the palace to the
trench below. He then left the city and, going to the vizier, ordered that they depart that
very hour.
Orientalism
Edward Said's evaluation and critique of the set of beliefs known as Orientalism
forms an important background for postcolonial studies. His work questions
stereotypes and patterns of thought which are accepted on individual, academic,
and political levels.
The Terms
The Orient is not a real place. Rather, it is an idea of what the East is. The Orient exists for the
West, and is constructed by and in relation to the West. It is a mirror image of what is inferior
and alien (Other) to the West.
Orientalism is a Western manner of seeing, discussing, writing about and relating to the Orient.
It is the image of the Orient expressed as an entire system of thought.
The Oriental is the person represented by such thinking. The man is depicted as feminine, weak,
yet strangely dangerous because poses a threat to white, Western women. The woman is both
eager to be dominated and strikingly exotic. The Oriental is a single image, a sweeping
generalization, a stereotype that crosses countless cultural and national boundaries.
Latent Orientalism is the unconscious, untouchable certainty about what the Orient is. The
Orient is seen as separate, eccentric, backward, silently different, sensual, and passive. It has a
tendency towards despotism and away from progress. Its progress and value are judged in terms
of, and in comparison to, the West, so it is always the Other, the conquerable, and the inferior.
Manifest Orientalism is what is spoken and acted upon. It includes information and changes in
knowledge about the Orient as well as policy decisions founded in Orientalist thinking. It is the
expression in words and actions of Latent Orientalism.
Earlier Orientalism
The first 'Orientalists' were 19th century scholars
who translated the writings of 'the Orient' into
English, based on the assumption that a truly
effective colonial conquest required knowledge of
the conquered peoples. This idea of knowledge as
power is present throughout Said's critique. By
knowing the Orient, the West came to own it. The
Orient became the studied, the seen, the observed,
the object; Orientalist scholars were the students, the
seers, the observers, the subject. The Orient was
passive; the West was active.
Image: French harem fantasy with a black eunuch servant. Les petits voyages de Paris-Plaisirs.--Paris Plaisir, Feb.
1930. (Image and text from Jan Nederveen Pieterse's White on Black: Images of Africa and Blacks in Western
Popular Culture. New Haven: Yale UP, 1992)
One of the most significant constructions of Orientalist scholars is that of the Orient itself. What
is considered the Orient is a vast region, one that spreads across a myriad of cultures and
countries. It includes most of Asia as well as the Middle East. The image of this single Orient
which can be studied as a cohesive whole is one of the most powerful accomplishments of
Orientalist scholars. Since the notion of the Orient is created by the Orientalist, it exists solely for
him or her. Its identity is defined by the scholar who gives it life.
Contemporary Orientalism
Said argues that Orientalism can be found in current Western depictions of Arab cultures. The
depictions of the Arab as irrational, menacing, untrustworthy, anti-Western, dishonest, and
perhaps most importantly always the same, comes from Orientalist scholarship.
Said's Project
Said calls into question the underlying assumptions that form the
foundation of Orientalist thinking. A rejection of Orientalism entails a
rejection of biological generalizations, cultural constructions, and
racial and religious prejudices. It is a rejection of greed as a primary
motivating factor in intellectual pursuit. It is an erasure of the line
between the West and the Other. Rejection of Orientalist thinking
does not mean a denial of the differences between the West and the
Orient, but rather an evaluation of such differences in a more critical
Teaching The Arabian Nights in Wisconsin
A Resource Guide by Sofia Samatar
and objective fashion. Scholars must study more focused and smaller culturally consistent
regions. The person who has until now been known as the Oriental must be given a voice.
What is Romance?
There are several types of romance in literature. Note the contrast between medieval and
modern romance:
Medieval Romance
In medieval use, romance referred to poetry dealing with chivalry and the adventures of
knights in warfare as they rescue fair maidens and confront supernatural challenges. These
poems are often episodic, meaning that they are made up of a number of short stories rather
than one long narrative. They represent a courtly or chivalric period of history involving highly
developed manners and civility. Their standard plot involves a single knight seeking to win a
scornful lady's favor by undertaking a dangerous quest. Along the way, this knight encounters
mysterious hermits, confronts evil blackguards and brigands, slays monsters and dragons,
competes anonymously in tournaments, and suffers from wounds, starvation, deprivation, and
exposure in the wilderness. He may incidentally save a few extra villages and pretty maidens
along the way before finishing his primary task.
Medieval romances often focus on the supernatural. A secondary concern is courtly love. In a
typical story of courtly love:
A knight or nobleman worships a noblewoman from afar, seeking to win her love by
valorous deeds.
He falls ill with love-sickness.
The woman chastely or scornfully rejects him in public, but encourages him in private.
The relationship remains chaste: it is a higher love, not a physical one.
The stories of King Arthur are a typical example of medieval romance.
Modern Romance
In contrast with medieval romance, the meaning of a modern romance has become more
restricted in the 20th century. The conventional plotline involves a third-person narrative or a
first-person narrative told from the viewpoint of a young woman between the ages of eighteen
and her late twenties. She encounters a potential paramour in the form of a slightly older man.
The two are prevented from forming a relationship due to social, psychological, economic, or
interpersonal constraints. The primary plot involves the two overcoming these constraints
through melodramatic efforts. The story conventionally ends happily with the two characters
professing their love for each other and building a life together.
Adapted from the glossary of literary terms at the website of Kip Wheeler, Carson-Newman
College. Find the full site here: http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/index.html
Teaching The Arabian Nights in Wisconsin
A Resource Guide by Sofia Samatar