 some unfortunate consequences ... I think that there has been a tendency in the Middle East [ studies ] field to adopt the word " Orientalism " as a generalized swear @-@ word , essentially referring to people who take the " wrong " position on the Arab – Israeli dispute , or to people who are judged " too conservative " . It has nothing to do with whether they are good or not good in their disciplines . So , " Orientalism " , for many people , is a word that substitutes for thought , and enables people to dismiss certain scholars and their works . I think that is too bad . It may not have been what Edward Saïd meant , at all , but the term has become a kind of slogan . 
