Orientalism, Oppression, and Contemporary Social Work

Elizabeth Beck, School of Social Work, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA
Stéphanie Wahab, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand; and Portland State University, Portland, OR, USA
Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Abstract

Edward Said’s work on Orientalism gives meaning to social workers, particularly those interested in social work, which
attends to issues of representation, power, privilege, and oppression. Both authors place Orientalism in context by examining
social work discourse and practices associated with gender, anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia, Zionism, cultural compe-
tency, and international social work.

Orientalism in Context for Social Work geographic East and countries outside of the Western and
industrialized hegemony.
The word Orientalism predates Edward Said, but it was his Said was born in Palestine, schooled in Egypt, and worked
analysis of the term combined with his determination to in New York City. As an Oriental living in the West, Said both
‘speak truth to power,’ that has rendered the word trans- studied and experienced the themes raised in Orientalism,
formative, contested, and revered. It is also his exploration of themes that included “racism, cultural stereotypes, political
Orientalism that gives meaning to social workers. Attention imperialism and dehumanizing ideology” (Said, 1992: p. 27).
to Orientalism can support social workers to understand
common practices associated with helping ‘others,’ work
What Is Meant by Orientalism
across differences, and unpack normative professional narra-
tives that inadvertently create knowers (i.e., social work Prior to Said, Orientalism was an academic discipline domi-
professionals) and objectify ‘others’ (i.e., ‘clients,’ service nated by Westerners who studied the near and far East. With the
users). For social workers addressing issues of social justice, 1978 publication of his book Orientalism, Said shifted this
Orientalism can provide insight into the dangers of objecti- subject of study. No longer was Orientalism a study of the
fication, mechanisms that create and maintain oppression Orient and its culture, rather it became the study of how the
and dominance – including ideas associated with neo- Orient is viewed, stereotyped, and thereby dominated by its
imperialism – as well as the enduring nature of anti-Arab and opposite, the Occident, or the West.
anti-Muslim prejudice. Additionally, Orientalism provides The domination that Said spoke about included traditional
social workers with a postcolonial lens that forces us to ask colonization to what is presently considered neoimperialism.
whose definition of social justice is being advanced and what In the latter, former colonies are economically indebted to and
is its relationship to dominance? As authors, one of us is controlled by the West through such entities as multinational
a Palestinian-French Canadian with American citizenship, corporations, international monetary structures, and even
and the other a secular Jew who identifies as an ally to some forms of foreign aid in which the emphasis is on the
Palestinians, a framing of ourselves that constitutes the ‘we’ security and economic interest of the donor agency rather than
in this article. local need (Bayoumi and Rubin, 2000; Burney, 2012).
For a basic understanding of Orientalism, it is instructive
to explore both the theories that underpinned Said’s thinking
Key Concepts in Orientalism as well as some of the stereotypes identified by Said. Said’s
Orientalism was influenced by the scholarship of French
Edward Said’s ‘Orientalism’
Psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan, French Philosopher Michel
As a Professor of English and Comparative Literature, Said’s Foucault, and Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci. Building on
Orientalism was derived from his close readings of Anglo, Lacan’s notion of ‘the gaze,’ in which the objectification of
French, and British post-Enlightenment literature as well as another diminishes the object’s autonomy, Said shifts the
texts ranging from travelogues to political speeches. Although subject from the gaze on the Orient to the West’s construction
the geographical area explored by Said over the course of his 20 of the Orient (Bayoumi and Rubin, 2000). Said then locates
books was expansive, Arabs and Islam constituted his primary Orientalism within Foucault’s framework of discourse by
focus. The decision to focus on Arabs and Islam was based on arguing that the Orient is a creation of its binary, the Occident.
both the historic position of the Orient and Said’s own expe- In this binary, Occident is ‘normative’ and Orient is ‘other.’
rience as an ‘Oriental.’ East and West are used to bifurcate the Harkening to Foucault’s work on knowledge production and
globe between Western parts of the globe, i.e., America, its ability to manufacture ‘truthful statements’ about the
England, and Europe, and the exotic and less civilized East. subjects studied, Said argued that Western studies and its use
Other terms like Global North and Global South are used to of authoritative discourse created and then exploited a prob-
delineate industrialized nations from the nonindustrialized lematic view of the Orient. Gramsci’s work on hegemony, as
ones. In this article, East is used to represent both the conceptualized by ideological leadership, allows Said to

428 International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 2nd edition, Volume 17 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-097086-8.28066-5
 Orientalism, Oppression, and Contemporary Social Work 429

explain the enduring nature of Orientalism, even when faced beautifully expressed by Lila Abu-Lughod (2002) when she
with evidence to the contrary (Bayoumi and Rubin, 2000; asked Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? Abu-Lughod
Burney, 2012; Said, 1978). argues that in the post-9/11 world, depictions of Muslim
women are largely essentialized as victims of ‘the veil,’
‘stoning,’ and ‘honor killing.’
Orientalist Stereotypes
While violence against women must never be condoned,
Oriental stereotypes, according to Said (1978), are used to rob images of hyperoppressed women have been used to justify war
the Orient of its truths while both silencing and diminishing in Afghanistan, and distract from a broader analysis of global
the Orient to the Occident. For example, Westerners celebrate injustice. For example, in the case of Afghanistan, American
Sir Edmund Hillary’s achievement as the first man to conquer constructions of Middle Eastern women as unable to speak for
Mount Everest, despite evidence suggesting that Hillary’s themselves reinforced Orientalist views, while ‘women saving’
Nepalese Sherpa, who clearly carried the larger portion of the supplied a liberal tilt to an unpopular war (Jarmakani, 2010:
heavy lifting, most likely reached the top before Hillary. The p. 228). For social workers committed to human rights, one can
example of Hillary and the Sherpa are repeated in many vari- see how public support for Saudi women drivers or Afghani
ations including Western geographic or archeological ‘discov- women’s rights not to be fully covered serves as a distraction
eries’ of inhabited land. from systemic concerns associated with war, occupation, and
In addition to stereotypes involving the Orient as a whole, colonization (Erakat, 2011). As different groups of Arab and
Said spoke about the significance of several pervasive and self- Muslim women are seen as terrorized by Arab and Muslim
reproducing stereotypes. These include Oriental depravity, men, their multiple and complex realities are simplified,
Oriental splendor, and Oriental sensuality. Oriental depravity essentialized, and appropriated by Western feminists
assumes many forms and a number of them are centered on the (Abdulhadi et al., 2011) and their needs associated with
Prophet Mohammed, who is often vilified as an ‘imposter.’ national liberation, decolonization, freedom from racism, and
Said explains that the label of imposter was the result of the poverty are erased and ignored.
incorrect assumption that Mohammed was to Islam what For many Muslim and Arab women, wearing the veil is
Christ was to Christianity, thus forcing Mohammed into a choice that is associated with concepts of identity, person-
a binary in which Christ was legitimate and Mohammed an hood, religious and cultural beliefs, and esthetic preferences
imposter who needed to be destroyed or punished. Consider, (Abdulhadi et al., 2011). Unfortunately, the relevance and
for example, Dante’s Inferno in which Mohammed’s sin of reverence for traditions associated with wearing the veil for
deception places him with his entrails exposed in the eighth of Arab and Muslim women are often obscured by stereotypes
the nine circles of hell. that lead to the pitying of them as the significance of the veil (to
As the Nepalese Sherpa is silenced, so are Oriental women Westerners) is often misunderstood, and the agency of the
who also do not speak for themselves. For example, consider women wearing it diminished.
Said’s description of Flaubert’s courtesan. She “never spoke for Additionally, the Orientalized view of gender and gender
herself, she never represented her emotions, presence, or oppression can distract social workers from engaging in any
history. He spoke for and represented her” (Said, 1978: p. 72). form of critical analysis of gender, religion, nationality, and
Oriental splendor and sensuality are iconic in figures such as ethnicity necessary for antioppressive practice. The Orientalized
Cleopatra, Salome, and Isis. While women such as Cleopatra view of gender can lead to single and essentializing narratives
conjure their own images, she is used in multiple other works such as Arab women are oppressed by their men, Muslim
(see for example, Charolette Bronte’s Villette) to express the women have little agency in their day to day lives, and Arab
desires of nineteenth-century women. Additionally, images women who wear hijab are oppressed. Antioppressive practice
such as the Harem, as often depicted in nineteenth- and requires a critical analysis of power that includes attention to
twentieth-century Orientalist paintings, shows both the exoti- resistance, agency, and diversity across identities. There is no
cism and the depravity of the Orient. The Harem is often used single story about Arab or Muslim women. Women, Arab and
in books and movies to illustrate splendor and depravity, and Muslim social workers, scholars, and activists find themselves
storylines tend to include a subtext of Western intervention. For responding to what Jarmakani (2010) calls false binaries such
example, it is often seen that the Western hero is often por- as whether the veil is oppressive or not, rather than the complex
trayed as seeking to save an Eastern woman or wandering and lived experiences of patriarchy (because the question of
Western women from the depravity and exoticism of the harem gender oppression is not denied). In other words, efforts to
(Abdulhadi et al., 2011). support equality in gender and sexual orientation are inter-
rupted as scholars’ and activists’ attention is turned from these
issues to refuting Orientalist constructions of Muslim and Arab
Orientalism and Representations of Arab and Muslim women by non-Muslims or non-Arabs.
Women Post-9/11

There is relatively new literature exploring the post-9/11 Orientalism and the Persistence of Islamaphobia
depictions of Arab and Muslim women as found in the Western and Anti-Arab Racism
media and in policy debates. Given that Orientalized women
do not speak for themselves, one of the major themes of the Written in 1530, and currently available in multiple stores,
post-9/11 representations is the hyperoppressed, shrouded libraries, and on the Internet, the book entitled Here after
woman in need of Western intervention. This theme is Foloweth a Lytell Treatyse Agaynst Mahumet and his Cursed Secte
430 Orientalism, Oppression, and Contemporary Social Work

(Anon, 1530) speaks to the enduring nature of Orientalized practitioners, researchers, and academics must understand the
depictions of depravity and the ways in which violence against macroforces that have infused what individuals know about
Muslims has been justified. In 1978, Said wrote, that “prac- Arabs and Muslims and how they know it. Social workers must
tically the only ethnic group about whom in the west racial be able to unpack their own social identities, as well as how
slurs are tolerated, even encouraged is the Arabs” (p. 26). these inform their working relationships with diverse groups
Said’s sentiment was affirmed 20 years later in 1999 in of Arabs and Muslims so that they can more effectively inter-
a widely cited report issued by the Runnymead Trust in rupt discrimination and oppression while working toward
England, indicating that anti-Muslim and anti-Arab discourse social justice.
had become normative.
Today, the term Islamophobia is used to describe the
Palestine
racialized bigotry, and discriminatory policies and practices
geared toward Muslims across the world, as well as to Arabs For Said (1992), the apex of Orientalism in the modern world
(and non-Arabs mistaken as Arabs) from a variety of religious and in his own biography was Palestine. Understanding the
backgrounds. Islamophobia and anti-Arab prejudice is question of Palestine, as constructed in the United States, is
particularly strong in Europe and the United States where instructive for social workers as it illustrates modern day
Arabs and Muslims have been the target of discriminatory experiences of Orientalism. Social workers, particularly in the
public policies, rising levels of intolerance, and hate crimes United States, have largely been exposed to a single story about
(Sayyid and Vakil, 2011). The vitriolic comments made by the Palestine and Palestinians. This story paints an ‘us–them’
North American woman who confessed to murdering Indian binary with a benign ‘us’ and ‘them’ as radical terrorists who
immigrant Sunando Sen in December 2011 are illustrative. undermine the security of Israel and stability of the entire
She is quoted as saying “I pushed a Muslim off the train tracks Middle East, thus providing a contemporary instance of
because I hate Hindus and Muslims .. Ever since 2001 when Oriental depravity. As social workers find themselves in posi-
they put down the Twin Towers, I’ve been beating them up” tions to address the harm done to Palestinians at the micro-,
(Santora, 2012: p. A15). mezzo- and macrolevels, they need to have a greater under-
For Muslims, Arabs, and individuals who are of Muslim or standing of the experiences of Palestinians from diverse Pal-
Arab decent or are perceived as such, living in the West includes estinian perspectives. Whether engaged in international social
many of the issues associated with being marked as racially work, or microlevel practice with Palestinians living abroad,
and ethnically different. Difficulties include marginalization, especially during times of war, social workers must be able to
racism, violence, isolation, and cultural imperialism. The think critically about the ways in which Orientalism informs
resulting harms involve exclusion, stigma, hate speech and their theories, practices, and biases. By recognizing, for
crimes, as well as stress including traumatic stress. Stereotypes example, the existence of multiple Palestinian narratives asso-
of violence and terrorism accompany Muslim and Arab iden- ciated with struggle, survival, gender, religion, place, family,
tities. In her exploration of Arab and Arab American youth and nationality among other issues, social workers, particularly
living on the West coast of the United States, Naber (2012) in the United States, become exposed to the diversity of
interviewed youth in San Francisco who shared their disap- Palestinian experiences and realities, as well as counter-
pointment and fear that the only portrayals of Arabs in the narratives that challenge Orientalist and Zionist knowledge
media are ones of Arabs as killers and radical terrorists. about Palestinians.
While Orientalism helps place Islamophobia in context, In his book, The Question of Palestine, Said (1992: p. 15)
social workers are faced with two important questions. What writes that support of Israel or Zionism has “rationalized the
are the implications of Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism for denial of present reality in Palestine.” The website, If Americans
social work practice? This question has particular significance Knew, offers a quick overview of some of the hardships and
given that social workers are often in the role of providing humiliations that comprise the present realities of Palestinians.
services to and working alongside Arab and Muslim individ- The Web site makes clear that since the year 2000, there have
uals, communities, and colleagues. This question also has been at least six Palestinians killed for every Israeli and more
particular implications for social workers and social work than 10 times more children. We do not use these numbers to
students who identify as or are perceived to be Arab or Muslim. suggest that any death is tolerable, but rather to show the scale
The second question, given our profession’s commitment to between them. Political imprisonment and detention as well as
social justice is what should be our role in addressing Islam- restrictions on movement and water are common elements of
ophobia and anti-Arab or anti-Muslim prejudice? life on the West Bank (If America Knew, n.d.).
Implications of Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism on Although the United Nations has issued 65 separate reso-
social work practice include the need to incorporate Orien- lutions indicating human right abuses by Israel regarding the
talism theory and content in social work education to attend to Palestinians (none have been issued against Palestine), Israel is
ethical standards that guide our profession, as well as to portrayed as the victim in much of the North American public
support antioppressive practice. This is suggested by the discourse, and efforts to suggest otherwise can carry heavy costs
International Federation of Social Workers (2012), in Ethical (Carter, 2006b). For example, accusations of being “negative,
Principle 4.2 – Social Justice – which identifies social workers’ anti-Semitic, or an apologist for Islam and the Arabs” (Said,
responsibility to challenge negative discrimination. Social 1992: p. 25) are leveled when one deviates from the narrative
workers cannot challenge Islamophobia or anti-Arab racism at of Israel as holding a higher moral ground, as evidenced by the
micro-, mezzo-, or macrolevels if they cannot recognize either vitriolic criticism from some US Democratic leaders and
the phenomenon or their participation in it. Instead students, American Jewish organizations when American President
 Orientalism, Oppression, and Contemporary Social Work 431

Jimmy Carter (2006) used the word apartheid in his book organizations that work with young Arabs to become allies that
Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid in describing the Palestinian– support their self-identified needs. Working with those most
Israeli conflict (see, for example Northam, 2006). This affected by Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism, however, is not
limited tolerance for a full and critical discourse places Pales- the only (or even most desirable) way to engage in anti-
tinians and Arabs at risk for further marginalization and oppressive practice with these issues. Social workers can also
isolation, in the United States in particular. focus their advocacy on changing systems (i.e., racial profiling),
Therefore, we know that in addition to marginalization and institutions (i.e., schools in the West that do not allow young
isolation, individuals of Palestinian descent know our pain, Arab women to wear the hijab), and norms (i.e., constant
that of our family and community members, and the pain in depictions in the media of Arabs as violent and depraved) that
our country’s recent history. For example, Thabet et al. (2002) perpetuate these harms.
studied the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
among 180 Palestinian children who either experienced
bombardment or demolition of their home by the Israeli Critiques
government when 18 000 Palestinian homes had been
demolished. This study found that 54% of the children exposed Said’s work and his construction of Orientalism is contested.
to this horror experienced clinical levels of PTSD. This preva- Critiques of Orientalism include that it does just what Said
lence of PTSD affects social workers working with these youth warned about, that is, take a reductionist, essentialized, and
and their families, personally and professionally. For social global view of the West and the West’s description of the
workers in the West with family and friends living in the Orient. To Said, a critical component of Orientalism is that the
occupied territories, the impact can be particularly acute. Such West speaks for the Orient. Interestingly, Muslim scholars
high levels of PTSD also carry implications for social work accused Said, who is Christian, of speaking for Muslims
advocacy concerned with social justice and human rights, and (Varisco, 2007).
carry implications for the public and mental health effects of
occupation and war.
In many parts of the West (especially in the United States), The Western Gaze Creating Others in Social Work
the pain of the Palestinian people is largely unrecognized. For
Cultural Competence
people with Palestinian ties living in the West, the set of feel-
ings regarding the homeland, the fears for loved ones who Through the vantage point of Orientalism, cultural competence
remain, and the news of traumatic experiences engender grief in social work takes on additional dimensions and requires
that is largely unacknowledged and misunderstood by Orien- further critique. Cultural competence generally refers to
talist societies. developing cultural knowledge and awareness of ‘different’
Ken Doka (1989) coined the term ‘disenfranchised grief’ to cultures, so that one is able to work across these differences.
write about the pain and difficulty of healing associated with An important set of critiques found in the cultural compe-
grief that is not supported by society or of which there is stigma tency literature highlights the lack of attention to power asso-
associated with the loss. To support Palestinian healing and ciated with specific cultures because culture is typically
restore self-determination lost as a result of war and occupa- constructed as neutral (Dominelli, 2002; Pon, 2009). Viewing
tion, social workers in the West must attain appropriate culture as neutral leaves little room for addressing and
information about the effects of Orientalism on Palestinians. critiquing the role that culture plays in perpetuating systems of
They can begin by unpacking the ways by which they have privilege and oppression. Thus, culture is seen as dichotomized
internalized Orientalist constructions of Arabs and Muslims between the poles of normative and ‘othered’ perspectives. That
before attempting to help. Given the dominance of Zionist is, normative is defined as from the West, white, middle class,
narratives about Palestinians in the United States, accessing this heterosexual, Christian, male, able bodied, and so on; white
type of information is neither easy nor self-evident. Social and the ‘othered,’ includes those who identify or are perceived
workers wanting to educate themselves, prior to working as identifying as people of color; indigenous; noncitizen; gay,
directly with Palestinians in or out of their own countries, may lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, asexual, intersex; Muslim;
begin by reading some of the references provided in the body of poor; disabled; and female, among others. Without a discourse
this text, or consider some of the texts listed on The Faculty of power associated with culture within cultural competence,
Lounge: Conversations about law, culture and academia (2012). an analysis of domination cannot occur (Dominelli, 2002;
When ready, social workers might engage in antioppressive Park, 2005; Pon, 2009; Sakamoto, 2007).
practice by becoming allies to Palestinians (in or out of their Rossiter (2007) states, “Domination takes place when the
own countries). dominator has the power to define the Other from within the
The issues affecting Arab and Palestinian youth in particular dominator’s frame of reference and interests” (p. 24). Using
are potentially important to social workers. Studies speak to the Said’s (1978) concept of positional superiority, one can argue
ill effects of racial profiling on youth, but studies informing that by controlling the production of knowledge about culture
social workers what it means to go through life profiled as in the East, the Occident, or West has not only asserted its
a terrorist, are lacking. Consequently, there is a need for social viewpoint but also enshrined hegemonic power. Consequently,
workers to learn about and research the harm caused by Orientalism is embedded within the notion and practice of
Orientalist stereotypes of Palestinians and Arabs. Beyond cultural competence to the extent that social workers, particu-
educating themselves and gaining the ability to unpack their larly in the West, study, create knowledge about, and
own Orientalism, social workers can seek out youth groups and then intervene with ‘cultured,’ marginalized, oppressed, and
432 Orientalism, Oppression, and Contemporary Social Work

objectified groups. Cultural competence as often practiced in exploitation that the women may have experienced upon
the West can be problematic for a number of reasons including their arrival in the United States – exploitation that may
that it encourages social workers to think about and engage in have led them to the brothel (Hobson, 1987).
(cultural) differences at the individual and family level, much to Similar Orientalist notions that regard certain Asian,
the exclusion of macroforces. For example, a cultural compe- indigenous, and Middle Eastern women as passive, exotic, and
tence approach for a Pakeha (Maori term for being of European victims of their own cultures exist today in social work
decent) social worker working with a Maori family focuses on (Mukherjee and Chowdury, 2012). Evidence shows that sex
learning about te reo (Maori language) or Tikanga (general trafficking exists in Canada and the United States. However,
behavior guidelines for daily life and interactions in Maori American social work efforts on sex trafficking often emphasize
culture) rather than learning about how racism and white cultural and global ‘others.’ For example, a piece on human
supremacy operate in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Without a critical trafficking in the National Association of Social Workers’
discussion of power, some of the issues associated with the act (Salett, 2006) Human Rights and International Affairs Practice
of being different from the norm – for example, marginaliza- Update presents seven examples of what human trafficking and
tion, silencing, isolation and poverty – are also excluded from slavery may look like. None of these include North Americans,
the discussion (Dominelli, 2004). focusing instead on individuals from India, Thailand, Sudan,
Finally, without a structural analysis of culture and, Mexico, Moldovia, West Africa (sic), and Russia brought into
difference, there is little room to consider the positional the United States (Salett, 2006).
privilege associated with social work, that is, the privilege Orientalist stereotypes have empowered women from the
bestowed on certain professions (including social work, West to define and attempt to solve the issue of sex trafficking
mental health, law, medicine, academia) based on their gate- for women in the East. The Coalition Against Trafficking in
keeping roles and exercise of power. As Margolin (1997) Women is an international NGO with strong local affiliates
suggests, lack of attention to positional privilege can lead throughout the world. Its American founder, Kathleen Barry,
social workers to view themselves as innocent helpers, and not once stated “In Thailand, religious ideology and patriarchal
consider the ways in which structural inequalities inform their feudalism reduce the value of women’s lives to that of sexual
practices and policies. Dominelli (2002), among others, has and economic property, which in turn validate prostitution”
specifically urged social workers to focus on how knowledge of (1995: p. 182). Instead of recognizing and framing forced
‘others’ is constructed in and through practice to become prostitution as a consequence of globalization, and compli-
proficient practitioners providing locally specific and cultur- cated socioeconomic, and political forces, many anti–sex traf-
ally relevant services rather than learning about reified ‘culture’ ficking organizations in the West focus on the cultures of the
when working with ‘others.’ East as the source of oppression for trafficked people. Ditmore
and Thukral (2012) provide useful information for service
providers who wish to help survivors of sex trafficking without
International Social Work
causing additional harm. Their paper outlines the dangers
Whether social workers define international social work as associated with raids to save ‘trafficked victims’ and they argue
‘global awareness’ (Asamoah et al., 1997) or as more practice for greater law enforcement accountability through human
focused, social workers from the West or Global North inter- rights and survivor-centered approaches. Social workers can
ested in joining international human rights organizations and facilitate these approaches by building empowering relation-
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) operating in the East ships with immigrant communities and individuals involved in
need to explore Orientalism and its impact on the construction informal economies as well as advocating for greater account-
of social problems, service delivery, and policy. Below, we ability of labor laws to prevent debt bondage and other
discuss anti–sex trafficking approaches to highlight concrete violations (Ditmore and Thukral, 2012: p. 147).
examples of Orientalism surfacing within and across interna-
tional social work issues and practices. Anti–sex trafficking
approaches offer a vivid example. Teaching Orientalism in Social Work
Social works’ involvement with individuals perceived as
A Foundational Critical Theory
sexual slaves/fallen women dates back to the Progressive Era
when social workers advocated against what was then called Orientalism is taught in some social work curricula to support
‘white slavery’ (Chapkis, 1997; Wahab, 2002). While students’ understanding of theory and social work practice. For
addressing slavery of any type can be seen as significant for instance, faculty members (Anaru Eketone and Shayne Walker)
social workers, historians have argued that the fear of ‘white at the University of Otago (Dunedin, New Zealand) teach
slavery’ was based not on a large number of documented Orientalism to undergraduate social work students to help
cases, but rather, societies’ fears of cultural contamination them understand the ways in which Maori have been con-
due to changing immigration patterns, social anxieties about structed, studied, and represented by Pakeha. They also teach
changing gender roles, sex, class, and race relations at the Orientalism as a means of supporting the ethical use of self in
turn of the twenty-first century (Doezema, 2010; Hobson, practice. Said’s concepts of latent and manifest Orientalism are
1987). Hobson (1987) points out that the presence of introduced in a Kaupapa Maori course to unpack the ways in
Asian women in brothels drew particular attention as which historical and contemporary constructions of Maori by
Orientalist notions of Asian women as hypersubmissive fed Pakeha have marginalized Maori culture, tikanga, and te reo
assumptions that they were imported as sexual slaves. This through government legislation (Walker, 1990). To gain
view removed attention from the race- and class-based a deeper understanding of Orientalism as a concept, students
 Orientalism, Oppression, and Contemporary Social Work 433

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Relevant Website
Varisco, D., 2007. Reading Orientalism: Said and Unsaid. University of Washington
Press, Seattle, WA. http://www.ifamericansknew.org/ (accessed 01.03.13.) – If Americans Knew.