Course Title：Orientalism

The aim of this seminar course is to introduce its trainees into the issue of viewing the East (Orient) through the eyes of the West (Occident), i.e. Orientalism. Emphasis is placed on the historical development of this concept and the unacceptable stereotypes that persist in this view. Because of the spatial and time dimensions of the concept “Orient”, the course focuses on the cultural area of the Far East (especially China and Japan) affected by the concept of Orientalism in American movies. The introduction to the key far-eastern cultural concepts (e.g. ideographic writing, Buddhism, Taoism, Asian values, etc.) is an essential part of the course. Active participation in class discussion is expected. The main output of the course is an essay.