Edward Said
Also known as Edward W. Said, Edward Wadie Said
Palestinian-American literary critic (1935 to 2003) who wrote Orientalism.
At a glance
Main ideas
Orientalism, The cultural archive, Two states, then one …
See all 4Criticism
Bernard Lewis, Nikki Keddie, Lebanon, 2000
See all 3Books to start with
Orientalism, The Question of Palestine, Culture and Imperialism …
See all 5Connections
See all 2
Also on this page: Key facts · Links · Sources · Related pages
- Said was a professor of literature at Columbia University and one of the founders of post-colonial studies.
- His 1978 book Orientalism criticised how Western scholarship and art represented the Middle East and Asia.
- He was also a public advocate for Palestinian rights and a member of the Palestinian National Council, which he left in 1993 over the Oslo Accords.
- With Daniel Barenboim he co-founded the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra of Israeli, Palestinian and Arab musicians.
Why it matters
- Orientalism changed how literature, history and Middle Eastern studies think about the link between knowledge and power, and it remains heavily debated.
Key facts
- Born
- 1 Nov 1935, Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine1
- Died
- 24 Sep 2003, New York City, aged 67, after 12 years with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia1
- Education
- Victoria College, Cairo; Northfield Mount Hermon School; Princeton (1957); PhD in English literature, Harvard (1964)1
- Columbia
- English and Comparative Literature faculty from 1963 to 2003; Parr Professor from 19771
- Offices
- President of the Modern Language Association1
- Politics
- Member of the Palestinian National Council; resigned in 1993 in protest at the Oslo Accords1
- Co-founded
- The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, with Daniel Barenboim, in 19991
- Awards
- Prince of Asturias Award for Concord (2002, with Daniel Barenboim)1
Main ideas
-
Orientalism1
Western representations of the East served to justify domination rather than to understand it.
-
The cultural archive1
In Culture and Imperialism, narratives, histories and travel tales are where imperial conquest is prepared.
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Two states, then one1
He supported a two-state solution in 1988, and in 1999 argued that lasting peace needed one shared state.
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Exile1
Feeling out of place, from a childhood split between Jerusalem and Cairo, runs through his work.
Criticism
-
Bernard Lewis1
Accused Orientalism of politicising the study of the Middle East and giving free rein to Said's biases.
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Nikki Keddie1
Said the word Orientalism became a generalised swear-word for scholars with the "wrong" position.
-
Lebanon, 20001
He was photographed throwing a stone across the Lebanon–Israel border, which drew wide criticism.
Books to start with
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Connections
Links
Sources
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