As I said, I am still reading and since the subject is close to me I tend to run into my own biases.
<i> > so are the humanities enforcing Orientalism, or actually combating it?</i> I am not a Marxist who believes every odd thing is intentional. But I do believe that humanities aren't as critical to The System as they are portrayed to be. They are very well an integral part of The System. And The System is all about money which humanities don't bring any more - hence the decreasing interest. For example, science is about pursuit of pure knowledge, but then most of its funding comes from DARPA, isn't it? So, in a peaceful world, scientific pursuit WILL dwindle. That is just the fact. Whether intentional or consequential, or whether science wants to bring peace or not, those questions are beyond my understanding as of now. And I think they will remain conjectural even after my death.