Actually, the East is of central importance in the concepts of orientalism and occidentalism, which are two different perspectives in perceiving and explaining the world. While orientalism provides knowledge about the East from the perspective of the West, occidentalism offers knowledge about the West from the perspective of the East. It cannot be said that occidentalism fully counterpose orientalism, which has a 700-year-history, both in terms of its historical development line and not having an institutional structure that can produce ideas, images and concepts related with the West. Occidentalism, as a newly introduced concept, is the understanding and expression of the East itself and the world with a non-Western perspective; it can also be defined as providing knowledge to the West about the East through the Easterners.
Occidentalism should get in the act from idea to action through its intellectual background. For this purpose, the concept should be systematized and institutionalized. Academies play a fundamental role at this point. Research centers to be established at academies can play a central role in guiding other institutions. Occidentalism Application and Research Center established within Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa University aims to realize this purpose. Although the center has the consciousness of taking a challenging responsibility as being the only center in the world in terms of systematizing and institutionalizing the idea of occidentalism, it has the determination and belief that this will be accomplished eventually.