New ideas about Occidentalism Orientalism, the study of the East, is well established, but Occidentalism, the study of the West, is not. An EU study examined the latter as an identity system, using Japanese–Italian relations to trace the concept's origins and its effect on the world. Climate Change and Environment © Thinkstock The term Orientalism refers to the collective association and study of east Asian societies and people, illustrated by the Asian Studies departments of many universities. However, the reverse study of collective western peoples, Occidentalism, is not a unified discipline, and hence is an academic 'blind spot'. Aiming to break down both concepts in favour of a more globalised approach was the EU-funded BETWATE project, which ran for two years from August 2011. The Italian study addressed three questions: 'How did the shaping ideas of West and East become universal?', 'How does the concept of Occidentalism affect the world?', and 'How can criticism promote dialogue and interaction?' The project began by studying the history of Japanese–Italian relations. Since the 1990s, both nations have been the most popular representative from the other region in those countries; the study aimed to find out why. The project focused on 19th and 20th century history, and included study of more recent fashion/culture exchange and media stereotypes. The researchers elaborated a three-point theoretical framework for the discussion, essentially examining Occidentalism as an identity construct and how it may be open to change. BETWATE's legacy will be establishment of a new discipline: Critical Occidentalism Studies. The field will help create international dialogue, break down stereotypes and inform policy. Keywords Occidentalism, Orientalism, identity system, Japanese–Italian relations, media stereotypes
