| Peer-Reviewed

Escaping from Orientalized Orientals: Studying Occidentosis as a Methodological Polemic for Regaining Eastern Identity versus West

Received: 3 May 2017    Accepted: 9 May 2017    Published: 12 July 2017
Views:       Downloads:
Abstract

Although Iranian society has not been directly colonized by Western countries over the past centuries, the colonizing strategies of some of these countries have been successful during various historical periods. Furthermore, Iranian intellectuals have taken diverse orientations towards the Western ideology. Nonetheless, debates on Western influences on Iranian culture and the orientations that could be taken towards them reached their climax during the Constitutional Revolution of Iran in the 19th century and continued to the Pahlavi Dynasty. It is said that Jalal Ale-Ahmad was among those intellectuals who were deeply influenced by the issue of Western influence on Iranian society. As a translator of some Western literary works, Ale- Ahmad could not have a nativist orientation towards Western influences. Nonetheless, he did not accept that Iranian culture could be influenced entirely by the Western culture. In his Occidentosis, Ale-Ahmad, besides explaining the term Westoxication attempts to introduce the problem of Orientalism in Iran. The current study aims to shed light on Ale-Ahmad’s personal views and orientation towards Westoxification. This paper will cover the problems of being oriented, in Ale-Ahmad’s view and also address his proposed solutions for Westoxification. Likewise, the issue of the Orientaized Orientals, as understood, by Ale-Ahmad will be put under consideration.

Published in English Language, Literature & Culture (Volume 2, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.ellc.20170204.11
Page(s) 31-36
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Westoxification, Orientalism, Orientalized Orientals, Ale-ahmad, Occidentosis

References
[1] Gahndi, Leela (1998). Postcolonial Theory, A Critical Introduction. Australia: Allen and Unwin.
[2] Said, Edward (1978). Orientalism. New York: Pantheon Books.
[3] Sardar, Ziauddin (1999), Orientalism, Buckingham: Open University Press.
[4] Clawson, Patrick and Michele Rubin (2005). Eternal Iran. New York: Palgrave.
[5] Wright, Dennis (2001). The English amongst the Persians. New York, I. B. Tauris Publishers.
[6] Nabavi, Negin (1999) “The Changing Concept of the "Intellectual" in Iran of the 1960s” Iranian Studies, Vol. 32, No. 3 (Summer).
[7] Boroujerdi, Mehrzad (1996). Iranian intellectuals and the West: The tormented triumph of nativism. Syracuse University Press.
[8] Ale-Ahmad, Jalal (1984). Occidentosis, A Plague from the West, Berkley: Mizan Press.
[9] Dastgheib, Abdol-Ali, (1992), Naghde Asare Jalal Ale-Ahmad, Tehran: Zharf Publications.
[10] Keddie, Nikki R. (1981) Roots of Revolution, New Haven: Yale University Press.
[11] Tiffin, Hellen (2008). Post-colonial Studies: The Key concepts. New York: Routledge.
[12] Farsoun, Samih k (Ed) (1992). Iran, Political Culture in the Islamic Republic, New York: Routledge.
[13] Kamrava, Mehran (1990). Revolution in Iran, London: Rutledge.
[14] Nanquette, Laetitia (2017). Translations of modern Persian literature in the United States: 1979–2011. The Translator, 23 (1), 49-66.
[15] Mirsepassi, Ali. (2017). Transnationalism in Iranian Political Thought: The Life and Times of Ahmad Fardid. Vol. 1. Cambridge University Press.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Jalal Farzaneh Dehkordi, Mohammad Amin Mozaheb. (2017). Escaping from Orientalized Orientals: Studying Occidentosis as a Methodological Polemic for Regaining Eastern Identity versus West. English Language, Literature & Culture, 2(4), 31-36. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ellc.20170204.11

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Jalal Farzaneh Dehkordi; Mohammad Amin Mozaheb. Escaping from Orientalized Orientals: Studying Occidentosis as a Methodological Polemic for Regaining Eastern Identity versus West. Engl. Lang. Lit. Cult. 2017, 2(4), 31-36. doi: 10.11648/j.ellc.20170204.11

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Jalal Farzaneh Dehkordi, Mohammad Amin Mozaheb. Escaping from Orientalized Orientals: Studying Occidentosis as a Methodological Polemic for Regaining Eastern Identity versus West. Engl Lang Lit Cult. 2017;2(4):31-36. doi: 10.11648/j.ellc.20170204.11

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.ellc.20170204.11,
      author = {Jalal Farzaneh Dehkordi and Mohammad Amin Mozaheb},
      title = {Escaping from Orientalized Orientals: Studying Occidentosis as a Methodological Polemic for Regaining Eastern Identity versus West},
      journal = {English Language, Literature & Culture},
      volume = {2},
      number = {4},
      pages = {31-36},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ellc.20170204.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ellc.20170204.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ellc.20170204.11},
      abstract = {Although Iranian society has not been directly colonized by Western countries over the past centuries, the colonizing strategies of some of these countries have been successful during various historical periods. Furthermore, Iranian intellectuals have taken diverse orientations towards the Western ideology. Nonetheless, debates on Western influences on Iranian culture and the orientations that could be taken towards them reached their climax during the Constitutional Revolution of Iran in the 19th century and continued to the Pahlavi Dynasty. It is said that Jalal Ale-Ahmad was among those intellectuals who were deeply influenced by the issue of Western influence on Iranian society. As a translator of some Western literary works, Ale- Ahmad could not have a nativist orientation towards Western influences. Nonetheless, he did not accept that Iranian culture could be influenced entirely by the Western culture. In his Occidentosis, Ale-Ahmad, besides explaining the term Westoxication attempts to introduce the problem of Orientalism in Iran. The current study aims to shed light on Ale-Ahmad’s personal views and orientation towards Westoxification. This paper will cover the problems of being oriented, in Ale-Ahmad’s view and also address his proposed solutions for Westoxification. Likewise, the issue of the Orientaized Orientals, as understood, by Ale-Ahmad will be put under consideration.},
     year = {2017}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Escaping from Orientalized Orientals: Studying Occidentosis as a Methodological Polemic for Regaining Eastern Identity versus West
    AU  - Jalal Farzaneh Dehkordi
    AU  - Mohammad Amin Mozaheb
    Y1  - 2017/07/12
    PY  - 2017
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ellc.20170204.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ellc.20170204.11
    T2  - English Language, Literature & Culture
    JF  - English Language, Literature & Culture
    JO  - English Language, Literature & Culture
    SP  - 31
    EP  - 36
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2575-2413
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ellc.20170204.11
    AB  - Although Iranian society has not been directly colonized by Western countries over the past centuries, the colonizing strategies of some of these countries have been successful during various historical periods. Furthermore, Iranian intellectuals have taken diverse orientations towards the Western ideology. Nonetheless, debates on Western influences on Iranian culture and the orientations that could be taken towards them reached their climax during the Constitutional Revolution of Iran in the 19th century and continued to the Pahlavi Dynasty. It is said that Jalal Ale-Ahmad was among those intellectuals who were deeply influenced by the issue of Western influence on Iranian society. As a translator of some Western literary works, Ale- Ahmad could not have a nativist orientation towards Western influences. Nonetheless, he did not accept that Iranian culture could be influenced entirely by the Western culture. In his Occidentosis, Ale-Ahmad, besides explaining the term Westoxication attempts to introduce the problem of Orientalism in Iran. The current study aims to shed light on Ale-Ahmad’s personal views and orientation towards Westoxification. This paper will cover the problems of being oriented, in Ale-Ahmad’s view and also address his proposed solutions for Westoxification. Likewise, the issue of the Orientaized Orientals, as understood, by Ale-Ahmad will be put under consideration.
    VL  - 2
    IS  - 4
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • Department of Foreign Languages, Imam Sadiq University, Tehran, Iran

  • Department of Foreign Languages, Imam Sadiq University, Tehran, Iran

  • Sections