Said understands Orientalism as a discourse in a Foucauldian manner. Orientalism is a particular system of meaning with its own rules, truth claims, and premises, derived from the power that Western nations wielded or aspired to wield over the Orient. Orientalism is part of the power and hegemony exercised by the West over the Orient. This is not to say that Orientalism is a collection of lies, falsehoods, or myths that one can eradicate by doing one’s homework on the “real” Orient. Said insists that Orientalism is too formidable to be dispelled in this way

XREF: Connects to Foucauldian discourse theory — power/knowledge linkages and how systems of meaning produce truth rather than simply reflecting it.

Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Intro…, loc. 205