Occidentalisms in the Arab World

While the Western perception of the 'the Orient' has become a well-worn topic in the field of Asian and Middle Eastern studies, the way in which the Arab world has come to perceive the West has been largely neglected. 'Occidentalisms in the Arab World' not only presents a comprehensive overview and pointed commentary on recent works in the emerging field of Occidentalist studies, but also provides new insight on the interplay between ideology and image in the formulation of 'the West'. Robbert Woltering provides an in-depth look at the ways in which multiple representations - occidentalisms - of the West have developed in Egypt since the end of the Cold War. Through the rigorous analysis of political speeches, popular literature and recurrent images, Woltering examines the ideological foundations that continue to shape the image of the Occident in the twenty-first century. 'Occidentalisms in the Arab World' provides an unparalleled and original commentary in an emerging field at the intersection of Middle East Studies, Political Science, and Media Studies. 'Robbert Woltering makes an important contribution to the debate about the image of the West in the Arab World. It reveals in detail how Arab Intellectuals - the main producers of ideas - express more varied, plural and complex images of the West than what the mainstream media and Orientalist literature tend to portray. Occidentalisms in the Arab World is a very convincing study.' - Asef Bayat, Professor of Sociology and Middle East Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign