Sunar, Lütfi İstanbul Üniversitesi - Edebiyat Fakültesi - Sosyoloji Bölümü, Turkey

Changing Concerns and Discourse Toward Orient in the Enlightenment

23446

Western interest to oriental societies has developed after 16th century. This interest has changed through the changes in the world politics and European domestic political issues. At the age of Enlightenment that information of Orient has seriously developed oriental social formations have been employed for the critics of aristocracy and church, and for interpreting the changes in European society. But since the social balance between aristocracy and bourgeoisie has changed and the western domination over world has increased a hegemonic narration was arisen. Especially geographical, climatic and even racial differences have become a base of the explanation of occidental ‘dynamism’ against oriental ‘stagnancy’. At the threshold of 19th century orientalism has appeared for corresponding need for systematic knowledge about oriental world.

59

Enlightenment , China , Indomania , Islam , East , West , Orientalism

Turkish journal of sociology

82