Abstract
Rooted in Edward Said’s theorization of Orientalism, this paper is concerned with the literary representations of the phenomenon of Self-Orientalism in Oriental literature. Self-Orientalism is a situation where Oriental subjects internalize and self-inscribe Orientalistsdistorted knowledge of the Orient and participate in the construction, reinforcement and dissemination of Orientalist discourse through their literary pieces and other forms of cultural expressions, in a bid to conform to Western cultures. Literary representation of Self-Orientalism perpetuates subservience to Western narratives, reinforces harmful stereotypes and promotes the intellectual, cultural, economic and political domination of the Orient that colonialism left behind. This study aimed to examine the manifestations of Self-Orientalism in Leila Aboulela’s Bird Summons. To this end, the study conducted a contrapuntal reading of the text using the four principal dogmas of Orientalism as analytical framework to highlight the manifestations of self-Orientalist tropes in the novel, to raise critical consciousness on the complex dynamics of Orientalist discourse. In the end, the study concludes that, on its face value, the novel revolves around the theme of cultural negotiations in Arab Western diaspora, but beyond engagement with this theme, the storyline is subtly tainted with the images of self-Orientalism, appealing to all the four principal dogmas of Orientalism. This finding suggests that some contemporary Oriental writersin Arab Western diaspora are complicit in Western cultural imperialism.This paper contributes to the ongoing postcolonial discourse about cultural representation, identity and power dynamics in literature by providing African postcolonial literary critics with critical insights for a broader engagement with discussions about similar imperialist Africanist discourse, where Africa’s image is stereotypically constructed using similar rubrics to the Orient’s.
Keywords: Orientalism, Self-Orientalism, Arab Diasporic Literature, Leila Aboulela
DOI: 10.36349/sojolics.2026.v02i01.037
author/Mohammed Umar Gadaka, Ph.D.
journal/Sokoto JOLICS 2(1) | June 2026 |
