This course will examine the general topic of cultures in conflict, through an extended reading of Said’s seminal work, Orientalism, as well as subsequent work which paved the way for the development of the field of cultural studies. One aspect of Said’s work and much work in the field of Cultural Studies is that creative works often rest upon political and social policies at the time of their production which are not apparent at the present time. In Said’s work this is represented in his searing critique of the academic topic of Orientalism in the West, as well as his later analyses of British literature and Palestinian search for social and political justice. This will be contrasted with attempts by Arab intellectuals to respond in kind, with a rather weak mirror-image of Orientalism, labeled Occidentalism. Aside from Said’s work, we will read and analyze a number of cultural traditions East and West (literature, cinema, social media, etc.) to see to what extent they are reflections of these conflicts. The course will require classroom presentations, as well as a final research paper which could be summary of the classroom presentations.