Orientalism：Western Conceptions of the Orient

EdwardWadieSaïd(Arabic:إدواردوديعسعيد‎,transliteration:EdwārdWadīʿSaʿīd;1November1935–25September2003)wasanArabPalestinianliterarytheorist,culturalcritic,politicalactivist,andanoutspokenadvocateofPalestinianrights.HewasUniversityProfessorofEnglishandComparativeLiteratureatColumbiaUniversity,andisregardedasafoundingfigureinpostcolonialtheory.SaïdwasborninJerusalem(thenintheBritishMandateofPalestine)onNovember1,1935.HisfatherwasawealthyProtestantPalestinianbusinessmanandanAmericancitizenwhohadservedunderGeneralPershinginWorldWarI,whilehismotherwasborninNazarethalsoofChristianPalestiniandescent.[2]HissisterwasthehistorianandwriterRosemarieSaidZahlan.Hereferredtohimselfasa"ChristianwrappedinaMuslimculture".SaidexperiencedmuchconfusiongrowingupandwasquotedassayingthatwithanunexceptionallyArabfamilynamelikeSaidconnectedtoanimprobablyBritishfirstname(mymothermuchadmiredthePrinceofWalesin1935,theyearofmybirth),Iwasanuncomfortablyanomalousstudentallthroughmyearlyyears:aPalestiniangoingtoschoolinEgypt,withanEnglishfirstname,anAmericanpassportandnocertainidentityatall.[3]AccordingtoSaïd'sautobiographicalmemoir,OutofPlace[4],Saïdlived"betweenworlds"inbothCairoandJerusalemuntiltheageof12.In1947,heattendedtheAnglicanSt.George'sAcademywhenhewasinJerusalem,buthisextendedfamilybecamerefugeesin1948duringthe1948Arab-IsraeliWarwhentheirneighborhoodofTalbiyawascapturedbyJewishmilitiagroups,alongwiththewesternpartofJerusalem,whichbecamepartoftheStateofIsrael:“ IwasborninJerusalemandhadspentmostofmyformativeyearsthereand,after1948,whenmyentirefamilybecamerefugees,inEgypt.Allmyearlyeducationhad,however,beeninélitecolonialschools,EnglishpublicschoolsdesignedbytheBritishtobringupagenerationofArabswithnaturaltiestoBritain.ThelastoneIwenttobeforeIlefttheMiddleEasttogototheUnitedStateswasVictoriaCollegeinAlexandria,aschoolineffectcreatedtoeducatethoseruling-classArabsandLevantineswhoweregoingtotakeoveraftertheBritishleft.MycontemporariesandclassmatesincludedKingHusseinofJordan,severalJordanian,Egyptian,SyrianandSaudiboyswhoweretobecomeministers,primeministersandleadingbusinessmen,aswellassuchglamorousfiguresasMichelShalhoub,headprefectoftheschoolandchieftormentorwhenIwasarelativelyjuniorboy,whomeveryonehasseenonscreenasOmarSharif.[4] ”Intheyear1951SaidwasexpelledfromVictoriaCollegeforbeinga"troublemaker"[5],andwasconsequentlysentbyhisparentstoMountHermonSchool,aprivatecollegepreparatoryschoolinMassachusetts,whereherecallsa"miserable"yearfeeling"outofplace".[4]Saidlaterreflectedthatthedecisiontosendhimsofarawaywasheavilyinfluencedbythe'theprospectsofderacinatedpeoplelikeusbeingsouncertainthatitwouldbebesttosendmeasfarawayaspossible'.[6]DespitefeelingoutofplaceSaiddidwellattheMassachusettsboardingschooloften'achievingtherankofeitherfirstorsecondinaclassofaboutahundredandsixty'[7]SaidearnedanA.B.(1957)fromPrincetonUniversityandanM.A.(1960)andaPh.D.(1964)fromHarvardUniversity,wherehewontheBowdoinPrize.HejoinedthefacultyofColumbiaUniversityin1963andservedasProfessorofEnglishandComparativeLiteratureforseveraldecades.In1977SaidbecametheParrProfessorofEnglishandComparativeLiteratureatColumbiaandsubsequentlybecametheOldDominionFoundationProfessorintheHumanities.In1992heattainedtherankofUniversityProfessor,Columbia'smostprestigiousacademicposition.ProfessorSaidalsotaughtatHarvard,JohnsHopkins,andYaleuniversities.HewasfluentinEnglish,French,andArabic.[citationneeded]In1999,afterhisearlierelectiontosecondvicepresidentandfollowingitssuccessionpolicy,SaidservedaspresidentoftheModernLanguageAssociation.SaidwasbestowedwithnumeroushonorarydoctoratesfromuniversitiesaroundtheworldandtwicereceivedColumbia'sTrillingAwardandtheWellekPrizeoftheAmericanComparativeLiteratureAssociation.HisautobiographicalmemoirOutofPlacewonthe1999NewYorkerPrizefornon-fiction.HewasalsoamemberoftheAmericanAcademyofArtsandSciences,theAmericanAcademyofArtsandLetters,theRoyalSocietyofLiterature,andtheAmericanPhilosophicalSociety.[8]Said'swritingregularlyappearedinTheNation,TheGuardian,theLondonReviewofBooks,LeMondeDiplomatique,Counterpunch,AlAhram,andthepan-Arabdailyal-Hayat.Hegaveinterviewsalongsidehisgoodfriend,fellowpoliticalactivist,andcolleagueNoamChomskyregardingU.S.foreignpolicyforvariousindependentradioprograms.SaidalsocontributedmusiccriticismtoTheNationformanyyears.In1999,hejointlyfoundedtheWest-EastDivanOrchestrawiththeArgentine-IsraeliconductorandclosefriendDanielBarenboim.EdwardSaiddiedattheageof67intheearlymorningofSeptember25,2003,inNewYorkCity,afteradecade-longbattlewithchronicmyelogenousleukemia.[9]InNovember2004,BirzeitUniversityrenameditsmusicschoolastheEdwardSaidNationalConservatoryofMusicinhishonor.[10]InJanuary2006,anthropologistDavidPriceobtained147pagesofSaid's238-pageFBIfilethroughaFreedomofInformationActrequest.TherecordsrevealthatSaidwasundersurveillancestartingin1971.Mostofhisrecordsaremarkedasrelatedto"ISMiddleEast"("IS"=Israel)andsignificantportionsremain"ClassifiedSecrets."[11]