The West-Rest discourse persists and still shapes modern sociology

Evidence

In transformed and reworked forms, this discourse continues to inflect the language of the West, its image of itself and “others,” its sense of “us” and “them,” its practices and relations of power toward the Rest. It is especially important for the languages of racial inferiority and ethnic superiority which still operate so powerfully across the globe today. So, far from being a “formation” of the past, and of only historical interest, the discourse of “the West and the Rest” is alive and well in the modern world. And one of the surprising places where its effects can still be seen is in the language, theoretical models, and hidden assumptions of modern sociology itself. — Stuart Hall, Essential Essays, Volume 2, 688

Categorization

• XREF: The claim that the discourse hides inside sociology’s own models is the same charge made about Orientalist assumptions in the social sciences — carries directly into Islamophobia scholarship. — connects to: The West concept classifies, represents, compares, and evaluates societies — Stuart Hall, Essential Essays, Volume 2: Identity…, 509; The West and the Rest is a constructed, contingent discourse; Twentieth-century discourse still treated the civilizing West as descended from eastern barbarians — Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 213 (+3 more)
• QUESTION: Which specific modern sociological models still encode West-and-Rest assumptions? Worth chasing as a literature thread.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Stuart Hall, Essential Essays, Volume 2: Identity…, 688

Broader Connections

• Twentieth-century discourse still treated the civilizing West as descended from eastern barbarians #exemplifies (0.85) — Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 213
• Rising non-Western cultures relativized the Western episteme #qualifies (0.75)