The concept of imagined geographies (or imaginative geographies) originated from

Edward Said Edward Wadie Said (1 November 1935 – 24 September 2003) was a Palestinian-American academic, literary critic, and political activist. As a professor of literature at Columbia University, he was among the founders of Postcolonialism, post-co ...

, particularly his work on critique on Orientalism. Imagined geographies refers to the perception of a space created through certain imagery, texts, and/or

discourse Discourse is a generalization of the notion of a conversation to any form of communication. Discourse is a major topic in social theory, with work spanning fields such as sociology, anthropology, continental philosophy, and discourse analysis. F ...

s. For Said, ''imagined'' does not mean to be false or made-up, but rather is used synonymous with ''perceived''. Despite often being constructed on a national level, imagined geographies also occur domestically in nations and locally within regions, cities, etc. Imagined geographies can be seen as a form of

social constructionism Social constructionism is a term used in sociology, social ontology, and communication theory. The term can serve somewhat different functions in each field; however, the foundation of this Conceptual framework, theoretical framework suggests ...

on par with

Benedict Anderson Benedict Richard O'Gorman Anderson (August 26, 1936 – December 13, 2015) was an Anglo-Irish political scientist and historian who lived and taught in the United States. Anderson is best known for his 1983 book ''Imagined Communities'', which e ...

's concept of imagined communities. Edward Said's notion of

Orientalism In art history, literature, and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects of the Eastern world (or "Orient") by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. Orientalist painting, particularly of the Middle ...

is tied to the tumultuous dynamics of contemporary history.

is often referred to as the West's patronizing perceptions and depictions of the East, but more specifically towards

Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

and

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life. Founded by Confucius ...

states.

has also been labeled as the cornerstone of postcolonial studies. This theory has also been used to critique several geographies created; both historically and contemporarily—an example is

Maria Todorova Maria Nikolaeva Todorova () (born 5 January 1949, Sofia) is a Bulgarian historian who is best known for her influential book, ''Imagining the Balkans'', in which she applies Edward Said's notion of "Orientalism" to the Balkans. She is the daughter ...

's work ''

Imagining the Balkans ''Imagining the Balkans'' is a book by the Bulgarian academic Maria Todorova. The book was published by Oxford University Press in United States on May 22, 1997 (), with the second and enlarged edition being published in 2009. It was described as ...

''. Samuel P. Huntington's ''

Clash of Civilizations The "Clash of Civilizations" is a thesis that people's cultural and religious identities will be the primary source of conflict in the post–Cold War world. The American political scientist Samuel P. Huntington argued that future wars would be ...

'' has also been criticized as showing a whole set of imagined geographies.

Halford Mackinder Sir Halford John Mackinder (15 February 1861 – 6 March 1947) was a British geographer, academic and politician, who is regarded as one of the founding fathers of both geopolitics and geostrategy. He was the first Principal of University Ext ...

's theories have also been argued by scholars to be an imagined geography that emphasised the importance of Europe over non-European countries, and asserted the view of the geographical "expert" with the " God's eye view".

Orientalism

In his book ''Orientalism'', Edward Said argued that Western culture had produced a view of the "

Orient The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term ''Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a meto ...

" based on a particular imagination, popularized through

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

Oriental studies Oriental studies is the academic field that studies Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology. In recent years, the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Middle Eastern studie ...

travel writing The genre of travel literature or travelogue encompasses outdoor literature, guide books, nature writing, and travel memoirs. History Early examples of travel literature include the '' Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' (generally considered a ...

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

and a colonial view of the Orient. This imagination included painting the orient as feminine- however, Said's view on the gendered nature has been criticized by other scholars due to a limited exploration of the construct. At a 1993 lecture located at York University, Toronto, Canada, Said stressed the role culture plays in Orientalism-based imperialism and colonialism.Edward Said. "Culture and Imperialism" (Lecture): York University, Toronto, February 10, 1993. By differentiating and elevating a national culture over another a validating process of "othering" is undertaken. This process underlies imagined geographies such as orientalism as it creates a set of preconceived notions for self-serving purposes. In constructing itself as superior, the imperial force or colonizing agent is able to justify its actions as somehow necessary or beneficial to the "other". Despite the broad scope and effect of orientalism as an imagined geography, it and the underlying process of "othering" are discursive and thereby normalized within dominant, Western societies. It is in this sense that Orientalism may be reinforced in cultural texts such as art, film, literature, music, etc. where one-dimensional and often backwards constructions prevail. A prime source of cinematic examples is the documentary-film '' Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People''.Sut Jhally. Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People. The film demonstrates the process of orientalism centric "othering" within Western films from the silent era to modern classics such as Disney's ''

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; , , ATU 561, 'Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with '' One Thousand and One Nights'' (often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of the original ...

''. Inferior, backwards, and culturally stagnate constructions of Oriental "others" become normalized in the minds of Western consumers of cultural texts; reinforcing racist or insensitive beliefs and assumptions. In ''Orientalism'', Said says that Orientalism is an imagined geography because a) Europeans created one culture for the entirety of the 'Orient', and b) the 'Orient' was defined by text and not by the 'Orient'.

Theory

Said was heavily influenced by French philosopher

Michel Foucault Paul-Michel Foucault ( , ; ; 15 October 192625 June 1984) was a French History of ideas, historian of ideas and Philosophy, philosopher who was also an author, Literary criticism, literary critic, Activism, political activist, and teacher. Fo ...

, and those who have developed the theory of imagined geographies have linked these together. Foucault states that power and knowledge are always intertwined. Said then developed an idea of a relationship between power and descriptions. Imagined geographies are thus seen as a tool of power, of a means of controlling and subordinating areas. Power is seen as being in the hands of those who have the right to objectify those that they are imagining. Imagined geographies were mostly based on myth and legend, often depicting monstrous "others".

elaborates that: “Europe is powerful and articulate; Asia is defeated and distant."Said, Edward. “Imaginative Geography and Its Representations: Orientalizing the Oriental.” Orientalism. New York: Vintage, 1979. Further writers to have been heavily influenced by the concept of imagined geographies including

Derek Gregory Derek Gregory (born 1 March 1951) is a British academic and world-renowned geographer who is currently Peter Wall Distinguished Professor and Professor of Geography at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. He formerly held positions ...

and Gearóid Ó Tuathail. Gregory argues that the War on Terror shows a continuation of the same imagined geographies that Said uncovered. He claims that the

world is portrayed as uncivilized; it is labeled as backward and failing. This justifies, in the view of those imagining, the military intervention that has been seen in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

and

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

mentions that when

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

appeared in Europe in the Middle Ages, the response was conservative and defensive. Ó' Tuathail has argued that

geopolitical Geopolitics () is the study of the effects of Earth's geography on politics and international relations. Geopolitics usually refers to countries and relations between them, it may also focus on two other kinds of states: ''de facto'' independen ...

knowledges are forms of imagined geography. Using the example of

heartland theory "The Geographical Pivot of History" is an article submitted by Halford John Mackinder in 1904 to the Royal Geographical Society that advances his heartland theory.Mackinder, H. J."The Geographical Pivot of History" ''The Geographical Journal'', ...

, he has shown how the presentation of Eastern Europe / Western Russia as a key geopolitical region after the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

influenced actions such as the recreation of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and the Polish Corridor in the 1918

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...

Orientalism

Theory

See also

References

Further reading