Exclusion by Design Tracing Rhetorical Continuity through American Exceptionalism and Orientalism

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Cover Image, Volume 2. Portion of engraving, "Ornament with Owl Mocked by Day Birds," by Martin Schongauer. Released under Creative Commons Zero (CC0). Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington.
PDF Anna Aalhus
Published: Dec 19, 2025
Keywords:
Orientalism, American exceptionalism, rhetoric, Self/Other dichotomy, racial hierarchy

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Anna Aalhus
KPU

Abstract

Drawing upon Edward Said's theory of Orientalism, this essay argues that American exceptionalism continues to justify subjugation, displacement, and state violence through the rhetorical and ideological reproduction of colonial binaries and racialized hierarchies of power. 

Article Details

Issue
Vol. 2 (2025)
Section
Articles