Gibb reframed oriental literature as Europe’s way out of its own narrowness

Evidence

Following on these three moments of casual contact, the German romantics turned again to the East, and for the first time made it their conscious aim to open a way for the real heritage of oriental poetry to enter into the poetry of Europe. The nineteenth century, with its new sense of power and superiority, seemed to clang the gate decisively in the face of their design. Today, on the other hand, there are signs of a change. Oriental literature has begun to be studied again for its own sake, and a new understanding of the East is being gained. As this knowledge spreads and the East recovers its rightful place in the life of humanity, oriental literature may once again perform its historic function, and assist us to liberate ourselves from the narrow and oppressive conceptions which would limit all that is significant in literature, thought, and history to our own segment of the globe. — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 661

Categorization

• DEFINE: Gibb’s humanistic appeal to ‘oriental literature for its own sake’ is a competing frame within Orientalist discourse — not a rejection of the East/West binary but a revaluation of the East’s use to the West.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 661