What is Digital Orientalism

The concept of orientalism, which the Western world puts forward as an academic discipline in order to recognize the Eastern culture, is commonly defined as the effort of the West to facilitate the establishment of the hegemonical structure by building itself over the East. Although orientalism contains different definitions, it is related to many concepts. Among these, there are concepts such as “geographical discoveries,” “colonialism,” “imperialism,” “ethnocentrism” that contribute to our understanding of the relationship between Western-Eastern opposition. Concepts such as “technology” and “digitalization” have been added to these concepts in today's world, and the orientalist discourse continues through digital technologies. In this context, a new concept defined as “digital orientalism” has emerged. The study aims to explain the changing/transforming understanding of orientalism today by shedding light on the understanding of orientalism from the past to the present.