App, Urs: "The Birth of Orientalism."(Book review)

• Author: Ha, Hyun Jeong

App, Urs. The Birth of Orientalism. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2010.

Swiss historian Urs App, a Religious Studies scholar at the Swiss National Research Fund, has written extensively about Asian religions and the history of Orientalism, with particular interests in intellectual interactions between the East and the West. The Birth of Orientalism, is an important addition to the literature of the histories of religious ideology and Oriental studies. Although first released in hardback form in 2010, it was not until 2015 that the book was offered in paperback form, which allows for its dissemination to a larger audience at a more affordable price. In this book, App argues that Orientalism, the formation and the development of the Western perspectives of the Orient, has its origins in the fifteenth century through Europeans' intellectual correspondences with Asians on their religions. With a large focus on Buddhism and Hinduism, App draws his primary data from archival research...