Edward+Said

Edward Said (1935-2003) was a scholar who wrote the book //Orientalism// in 1978 and also coined the term, “orientalism.” He was a jack of all trades, “a brilliant, multitalented thinker, speaker, writer, and musician,” and is still considered one of the greatest public intellectuals of the twentieth century and a major influence on the field of cultural studies (Lundquist). He was so great, in fact, that he probably would not have uploaded his work exactly at 12:00 am Monday.

Said was born to Palestinian Christian parents in British Mandate Jerusalem. His family moved to Cairo and he ended up attending the Victoria College there, where he was in the same class as future King Hussein of Jordan. He went to America to further his education, attending both Princeton University and Harvard University. Said received a Ph.D. in English in 1964 and became a full professor at Columbia University in 1970.
 * Early Life/Education**

“Said was deeply involved in the politics of the Middle East, particularly the Israel-Palestinian crisis, as well in as the politics of colonialism – the way that centuries of Western scholars, artists, administrators, explorers, and writers have used Western military, economic, and cultural dominance to stereotype, dominate, and subjugate Eastern (particularly Islamic Middle Eastern) peoples, all in the name of what was presented as an objective, nonintrusive, nonjudgmental process: orientalism” (Lundquist). In other words, orientalism is the Western (also known as Occident) style for dominating, restructuring, and having authority over the East (Orient). He wrote a book on this subject, titled //Orientalism//. He was a strong supporter of independence for the Palestinian people, and he denounced Israel “and what he viewed as imperialist American support for Israel and projection of U.S. power in the Middle East” (Lundquist).
 * Orientalism**

//Orientalism// “… ranks as one of the most influential books of the twentieth century” (Lundquist). He was also a member of the Palestine National Council and aided in writing the Palestinian constitution in 1988. “He broke with Yasir Arafat following the Oslo Accords of 1993 both because he felt that the Palestinians got a very bad deal out of the accords and because he came to favor a single Jewish-Palestinian state rather than the two separate states that the leaders on both sides continued to pursue” (Lundquist). He served as the president of the modern Language Association (the MLA) in 1999. Until his death he continued to write and publish books on the subject of orientalism and music (although that is unrelated to history).
 * Legacy**


 * Source Citation:** Lundquist, John M. “Said, Edward [1935-2003].” __Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa__. Ed. Philip Mattar. Vol. 3. 2nd ed. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2004. 1966-1967. __Gale Virtual Reference Library__. Gale. Upper Arlington High School. 8 Sept. 2009 .