On Orientalism

How to define orientalism, and where lies its subjugating power today? On Orientalism is a video podcast project hosted by Moroccan writer, editor and broadcaster Yassin Adnan. Spoken in Arabic, philosophers and historians from research centres across North-Africa/South-West Asia and Europe are invited to probe orientalism’s logic, historic origins, and contemporary manifestations – from a scholarly discourse to a global institution that itself has become synonymous with colonialism and imperialism.

On Orientalism seeks to confront the many contemporary myths that disseminate a reductionist image of the Arab-Islamic world today. It is a project that demands academic rigour, self-reflection, and critical exchange between a multiplicity of voices, relying primarily on the expertise of scholars from the Arab world themselves. 

Dismantling orientalising ideology has, as host Yassin Adnan indicates, become increasingly urgent as the dehumanization of Arab and Muslim life serves as a handmaiden for the relentless genocidal drive of Western(-backed) regimes. In the wake of October 7, 2023, faced with the sophistry and unadorned hypocrisy of Euro-American politicians and media outlets, it seems more important than ever to develop the critical tools to dissect those myths: deconstructing them, analysing the narratives that underpin them, the representations that support them, and the discourses that promote them. 

With the ambition to renew the reach of the urgent intellectual intervention that is On Orientalism, Moussem is proud to release a first season of five shortened episodes, now translated with subtitles in English. A new English introduction to the podcast is now online, as well as the first episode, with four other episodes that will be launched in the coming month. Listen to On Orientalism on moussem.be, Spotify, Vimeo, Youtube, and following shortly with video on Apple Podcasts.