Final answer:
Edward Said is the influential theorist who described the Orient as "less a place than a topos," framing it as a Western cultural narrative in his work Orientalism.
Step-by-step explanation:
The influential theorist who said that the Orient was "less a place than a topos" is Edward Said. In his seminal work Orientalism, Said explores how the concept of the Orient has been constructed by the West as a way to distinguish it from Western societies. He explains that Orientalism is a cultural narrative, less about the geographical or factual accuracy, and more about the imagined and stereotyped collective identity of a vast and diverse region.
According to Edward Said, the view of Oriental cultures as mystical, tyrannical, or decadent served to amplify the perceived rationality, morality, and democracy of European cultures. Said’s critique lays bare how these stereotypes were employed to justify colonial and imperial ambitions by painting the East as the exotic, irrational 'Other' in contrast to the civilized West. This ideological framework has had a profound impact on academic, artistic, and political engagements with the East for centuries.