The correct answer is 4 because the options (B), (C), and (D) correctly describe key aspects of Edward Said’s Orientalism:
Why (B) is correct:
Edward Said draws on Michel Foucault’s concept of discursive formulation to analyze how knowledge systems construct and perpetuate power. He examines how "the Orient" was created as a discourse to serve Western imperialism and hegemony.
Why (C) is correct:
Said discusses imaginative geography and how the West creates representations of the Orient that are both imaginative and ideological. These representations position the East as "the other," contrasting with the West.
Why (D) is correct:
Orientalism is a foundational text of Postcolonial theory, as it critiques the cultural and political dominance of Western thought over non-Western societies and has been pivotal in shaping postcolonial studies.
Why (A) is incorrect:
Orientalism was published in 1978, not 1979.
Why (E) is incorrect:
Said does not directly employ Roland Barthes’ concept of the “death of the author” in Orientalism. His analysis does not focus on detaching the author from the text, but rather on the intentions and power structures behind the authors and their works.
Year-wise PYQs
