The concept of Imagined geographies has evolved out of the work of Edward Said, particularly his critique on Orientalism. In this term, ‘imagined’ is used not mean ‘false’ or ‘made-up’, but ‘perceived’. It refers to the perception of space created through certain images, texts or discourses. Imagined geographies can be seen as a form of social constructivism. Edward Said Edward Wadie Said (November 1, 1935 – September 25, 2003; Arabic: ) was a well-known American literary theorist, critic, and outspoken Palestinian activist. ... Orientalism (1978; 25th-anniversary edition 2003 ISBN 0671502484) is a 328-page study by Edward Said of a mostly British and French tradition, cultural apparatus, or style of thought based on the Orient/Occident distinction. ... ... Constructivism is a new criticism in philosophy directed against medieval realism, classical rationalism and empiricism. ...

Orientalism

Main article: Orientalism (book)

In his book on Orientalism, Edward Said argued that western culture had produced a view of the ‘Orient’ based on a particular imagination, popularized through academic Oriental studies, travel writing and a colonial view of the Orient. The area was feminized as a an open, virgin territory, with no ability or concept of organized rule and government. Karl Marx, for example, shows this Orientalist style when describing an India without politics, and Hindu people as ‘passive’, ‘helpless’, ‘vegetative’, ‘undignified’ and ‘stationary’. Orientalism (1978; 25th-anniversary edition 2003 ISBN 0671502484) is a 328-page study by Edward Said of a mostly British and French tradition, cultural apparatus, or style of thought based on the Orient/Occident distinction. ... The term the Orient - literally meaning sunrise, east - is traditionally used to refer to Near, Middle, and Far Eastern countries. ... Plato is credited with the inception of academia: the body of knowledge, its development and transmission across generations. ... Orientalism is the study of Near and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages and peoples by Western scholars. ... Travel writing is a literary genre related to the essay and to the guidebook. ... In general, the word colonial means of or relating to a colony. In United States history, the term Colonial is used to refer to the period before US independence. ... Karl Heinrich Marx (May 5, 1818 Trier, Germany – March 14, 1883 London) was an influential German philosopher, political economist, and revolutionary organizer of the International Workingmens Association. ... A Hindu (archaic Hindoo), as per modern definition is an adherent of philosophies and scriptures of Hinduism, the predominant religious, philosophical and cultural system of the Indian subcontinent and the island of Bali. ...

Development of Theory

Said was heavily influenced by Michael Foucault, and those who have developed the theory of imagined geographies have linked these together. Imagined geographies are thus seen as a tool of power, of a means of controlling and subordinating areas. Power is seen as being in the hands of those who have the right to objectify those that they are imagining. Michel Foucault (October 15, 1926 – June 26, 1984) was a French philosopher and held a chair at the Collège de France choosing for himself the title Professor of the History of Systems of Thought. His writings have had an enormous impact across the humanities and social sciences including such disciplines... Look up Power in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Power has many meanings, all of which imply control or force. ...

Further writers to have been heavily influenced by the concept of imagined geographies included Derek Gregory and Gerόaid Ó’ Tuathail. Gregory argues that the War on Terror shows a continuation of the same imagined geographies that Said uncovered. He claims that the Islamic world is portrayed as uncivilized; it is labeled as backward and failing. This justifies, in the view of those imagining, the military intervention that has been seen in Afghanistan and Iraq. Derek Gregory is an influential British geographer from the United Kingdom. ... The war on terrorism or war on terror (abbreviated in U.S. policy circles as GWOT for Global War on Terror) is an effort by the governments of the United States and its principal allies to destroy groups deemed to be terrorist (primarily radical Islamist organizations such as al-Qaeda... Islam (Arabic: ; ( â–¶ (help· info)), the submission to God) is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions and the worlds second-largest religion. ...

This theory has also been used to critique several geographies created; both historically and contemporairily. Samuel Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations has also been criticized as showing a whole set of imagined geographies. By following stereotypes and popular discourses and images, Huntington brackets whole sections of the earth into ‘civilization groups’ that are constantly at conflict. Halford Mackinder's 'imperial gaze' has also been shown as an important imagined geography [1]. This emphasised the importance of the British Empire over colonial peoples, and asserted the view of the geographical 'expert' with the 'God's eye view'. Samuel Phillips Huntington (born April 18, 1927) is a political scientist known for his analysis of the relationship between the military and the civil government, his investigation of coup detats, and his thesis that the central political actors of the 21st century will be civilizations rather than nation-states. ... Cover of The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order The Clash of Civilizations is a controversial theory in international relations. ... Stereotypes are considered to be a group concept, held by one social group about another. ... Categories: People stubs | 1861 births | 1947 deaths | British MPs | Geographers | Geopoliticians ... The British Empire was, at one time, the foremost global power, and the most extensive empire in the history of the world. ... In philosophy, the subject-object problem arises out of the metaphysics of Hegel. ...

The implications of Imagined Geographies

Imagined geographies show the problems created by the use of popular discourse to construct views of other regions or societies. All landscapes are seen as being imagined – there is no ‘real’ geography to which the imagined ones can be compared to. Thus when being analyzed, these geographies should not be ‘measured’ for their ‘accuracy’, but de-constructed so that the power invested in them can be revealed. Look up Power in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Power has many meanings, all of which imply control or force. ...

References

• Huntington, Samuel, 1991, Clash of Civilizations
• Gregory, Derek, 2004, ‘The Colonial Present’, Blackwell
• Marx, Karl, [1853] ‘The British Rule In India’ in Macfie, A.L. (ed.), 2000, ‘Orientalism: A Reader’, Edinburgh University Press
• Said, Edward, [1978]1995, ‘Orientalism’, Penguin Books