International Conference on "Orientalism Revisited: Beyond the Politics of East and West"
Date: May 23 - 24, 2015
Venue: University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, Level 2, Chulan Tower, No. 3 Jalan Conlay, Kuala Lumpur
“Orientalism” is a term that has been widely used by scholars to refer to the Western ways of observation that imagines, exaggerates and distorts differences of the East. It acts as a double-edged sword for both the West and the so-called East, and bears a negative connotation in Eastern societies, which led to the emergence of “Occidentalism,” or the excessively critical approach to seeing the West. Moving beyond familiar contraposition of West/East, good/evil and rational/irrational, this conference attempts to study the pre-defined boundaries in order to reassess them for creating a discursive space beyond the politics of the West and East.
The goal of this conference is to provide a forum in which not only old issues can be discussed but also fresh developments and new theoretical and methodological approaches could be dissected and explored. While questioning cross-cultural assumptions, this conference goes beyond the bounds of a Saidian critique of Orientalism which perceives Orientalism itself and the pursuit of Oriental Studies in Western universities to be an extension of a colonial will to dominate. This conference will not belabor the West’s will to dominate over the East, but rather discuss different approaches to the interpretation of Orientalism and the alternatives to Orientalist discourses that have emerged since the critique of Orientalism. In this way, the conference strives to establish a true dialogue and mutual understanding between the East and West as a prerequisite to mutual acceptance.
Programme
May 23 (Saturday)
| 1000 – 1015AM | Welcoming Speech by Prof Sean Matthews |
| 1015 – 1045AM |
Session I “Orientalism Still Around?” Disengagement and Ambivalence on Orientalism in Malay Intellectual Discourse |
| 1045 – 1130AM | Q&A |
| 1130 – 1200 Noon |
Session II The Ummatic Approach To Communication: A Cross-Cultural Encounter Between The West And The Rest. |
| 1200 – 1230 Noon | Q&A |
| 1230 – 230PM | Lunch |
| 230 – 300PM |
Session III From Orientalism to Islamophobia: Contemporary Issues and Challenges |
| 300 – 330PM | Q&A |
| 330 – 400PM |
Session IV The Said and Unsaid: The Grammar of Visual Imperialism |
| 400-500PM | Q&A |
| 500PM | Tea |
May 24 (Sunday)
| 1000 – 1015AM | Opening speech by Prof Syed Farid Alatas |
| 1015– 1045AM |
Session V Reverse Orientalism: National Poet of Albania Naim Frasheri (1846-1900) |
| 1045 – 1115AM |
Session VI The Stages and Process of Orientalism in History |
| 1115 – 1145AM |
Session VII Beyond Orientalism & Occidentalism: Metaphysics of Nothingness |
| 1145 - 1230 Noon | Q&A |
| 1230 – 230PM | Lunch |
| 230 – 300PM | Session VIII
Alternative Re-appropriation of Malcolm X
|
| 300 – 330PM | Q&A |
| 330 – 400PM |
Session IX Conceptual Imperialism and Academic Dependency: Can We stop Talking about Them? |
| 400 – 500PM | Q&A |
| 500PM | Tea |
Organized by:
- Islamic Renaissance Front (IRF), University of Nottingham Malaysia
- Campus (UNMC), University of Malaya (UM), National University of Singapore (NUS),
- Ferdowsi Research and Culture Institute, Istanbul Foundation for Science and Culture
- In cooperation with Institute of Malaysian and International Studies (IKMAS, UKM)