Writing Back or Writing for? Re-Orientalism and the Burden of Representation in South Asian Fiction
Abstract
Postcolonial studies have critically deconstructed Eurocentric narratives, exposing the ideological constructs embedded in colonial discourse. Eastern writers have actively contested these representations, resisting the West’s portrayal of the East as an inferior "Other." Edward Said’s Orientalism (1978) elucidates how Western discourse systematically depicted the East to reinforce its own dominance. Expanding on this critique, Lau (2009) introduced re-Orientalism—a phenomenon in which diasporic writers, often from formerly colonized regions, reproduce and internalize Western stereotypes about the East. This study examines The Good Muslim (2011) by Tahmima Anam, analyzing how Bangladeshi diasporic authors engage in re-Orientalist portrayals by accentuating negative cultural tropes. Through textual analysis, the paper argues that such narratives risk perpetuating, rather than subverting, colonialist frameworks by exaggerating and distorting indigenous traditions. The findings contribute to ongoing debates on re-Orientalism, revealing the complex ways postcolonial literature both challenges and reinforces hegemonic representations
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