Edward Said and the Work of the Critic: Speaking Truth to Power (a boundary 2 book)

For at least two decades the career of Edward Said has defined what it means to be a public intellectual today. Although attacked as a terrorist and derided as a fraud for his work on behalf of his fellow Palestinians, Said’s importance extends far beyond his political activism. In this volume a distinguished group of scholars assesses nearly every aspect of Said’s work—his contributions to postcolonial theory, his work on racism and ethnicity, his aesthetics and his resistance to the aestheticization of politics, his concepts of figuration, his assessment of the role of the exile in a metropolitan culture, and his work on music and the visual arts. In two separate interviews, Said himself comments on a variety of topics, among them the response of the American Jewish community to his political efforts in the Middle East. Yet even as the Palestinian struggle finds a central place in his work, it is essential—as the contributors demonstrate—to see that this struggle rests on and gives power to his general "critique of colonizers" and is not simply the outgrowth of a local nationalism. Perhaps more than any other person in the United States, Said has changed how the U.S. media and American intellectuals must think about and represent Palestinians, Islam, and the Middle East. Most importantly, this change arises not as a result of political action but out of a potent humanism—a breadth of knowledge and insight that has nourished many fields of inquiry. Originally a special issue of __boundary 2__, the book includes new articles on minority culture and on orientalism in music, as well as an interview with Said by Jacqueline Rose. Supporting the claim that the last third of the twentieth century can be called the "Age of Said," this collection will enlighten and engage students in virtually any field of humanistic study.__Contributors__. Jonathan Arac, Paul A. Bové, Terry Cochran, Barbara Harlow, Kojin Karatani, Rashid I. Khalidi, Sabu Kohsu, Ralph Locke, Mustapha Marrouchi, Jim Merod, W. J. T. Mitchell, Aamir R. Mufti, Jacqueline Rose, Edward W. Said, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Lindsay Waters For at least two decades the career of Edward Said has defined what it means to be a public intellectual today. Although attacked as a terrorist and derided as a fraud for his work on behalf of his fellow Palestinians, Said’s importance extends far beyond his political activism. In this volume a distinguished group of scholars assesses nearly every aspect of Said’s work—his contributions to postcolonial theory, his work on racism and ethnicity, his aesthetics and his resistance to the aestheticization of politics, his concepts of figuration, his assessment of the role of the exile in a metropolitan culture, and his work on music and the visual arts. In two separate interviews, Said himself comments on a variety of topics, among them the response of the American Jewish community to his political efforts in the Middle East. Yet even as the Palestinian struggle finds a central place in his work, it is essential—as the contributors demonstrate—to see that this struggle rests on and gives power to his general "critique of colonizers" and is not simply the outgrowth of a local nationalism. Perhaps more than any other person in the United States, Said has changed how the U.S. media and American intellectuals must think about and represent Palestinians, Islam, and the Middle East. Most importantly, this change arises not as a result of political action but out of a potent humanism—a breadth of knowledge and insight that has nourished many fields of inquiry. Originally a special issue of boundary 2 , the book includes new articles on minority culture and on orientalism in music, as well as an interview with Said by Jacqueline Rose. Supporting the claim that the last third of the twentieth century can be called the "Age of Said," this collection will enlighten and engage students in virtually any field of humanistic study. Contributors . Jonathan Arac, Paul A. Bové, Terry Cochran, Barbara Harlow, Kojin Karatani, Rashid I. Khalidi, Sabu Kohsu, Ralph Locke, Mustapha Marrouchi, Jim Merod, W. J. T. Mitchell, Aamir R. Mufti, Jacqueline Rose, Edward W. Said, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Lindsay Waters For at least two decades the career of Edward Said has defined what it means to be a public intellectual today. Although attacked as a terrorist and derided as a fraud for his work on behalf of his fellow Palestinians, Said's importance extends far beyond his political activism. In this volume a distinguished group of scholars assesses nearly every aspect of Said's work -- his contributions to postcolonial theory, his work on racism and ethnicity, his aesthetics and his resistance to the aestheticization of politics, his concepts of figuration, his assessment of the role of the exile in a metropolitan culture, and his work on music and the visual arts.In two separate interviews, Said himself comments on a variety of topics, among them the response of the American Jewish community to his political efforts in the Middle East. Yet even as the Palestinian struggle finds a central place in his work, it is essential -- as the contributors demonstrate -- to see that this struggle rests on and gives power to his general "critique of colonizers" and is not simply the outgrowth of a local nationalism. Perhaps more than any other person in the United States, Said has changed how the U.S. media and American intellectuals must think about and represent Palestinians, Islam, and the Middle East. Most importantly this change arises not as a result of political action but out of a potent humanism -- a breadth of knowledge and insight that has nourished many fields of inquiry. Originally a special issue of boundary 2, the book includes new articles on minority culture and on orientalism in music, as well as an interview with Said by Jacqueline Rose.Supporting the claim that the last third of thetwentieth century can be called the "Age of Said", this collection will enlighten and engage students in virtually any field of humanistic study. Introduction / Paul A. Bové -- Edward Said Talks To Jacqueline Rose / Jacqueline Rose -- The Panic Of The Visual : A Conversation With Edward W. Said / W.j.t. Mitchell -- Race Before Racism : The Disappearance Of The American / Gayatri Chakrovorty Spivak -- Criticism Between Opposition And Counterpoint / Jonathan Arac -- The Matter Of Language / Terry Cochran -- In Responses Begins Responsibility : Music And Emotion / Lindsay Waters -- The Sublime Lyrical Abstractions Of Edward W. Said / Jim Merod -- Uses Of Aesthetics : After Orientalism / Kojin Karatani -- Edward W. Said And The American Public Sphere : Speaking Truth To Power / Rashid I. Khalidi -- Sappers In The Stacks : Colonial Archives, Land Mines, And Truth Commissions / Barbara Harlow -- Counternarratives, Recoveries, Refusals / Mustapha Marrouchi -- Auerbach In Istanbul : Edward Said, Secular Criticism, And The Question Of Minority Culture / Aamir R. Mufti -- Exoticism And Orientalism In Music : Problems For The Worldly Critic / Ralph P. Locke. Paul A. Bové, Editor. Boundary 2 Book. All But Three Of The Essays Were Originally Published In Boundary 2, Summer 1998. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Contents 6 Introduction 10 Edward Said talks to Jacqueline Rose 18 The panic of the visual: a conversation with Edward W. Said 40 Race before racism: the disappearance of the American 60 Criticism between opposition and counterpoint 75 The matter of language 87 In responses begins responsibility:music and emotion 106 The sublime lyrical abstractions of Edward W. Said 123 Uses of aesthetics: after orientalism 174 Edward W. Said and the American public sphere:speaking truth to power 161 Sappers in the stacks: colonial archives, land mines, and truth commissions 174 Counternarratives, recoveries, refusals 196 Auerbach in Istanbul: Edward Said, secular criticism, and the question of minority culture 238 Exoticism and orientalism in music: problems for theworldly critic 266 Notes 292 Index 322 Duke,University,Press En este volumen, un distinguido grupo de especialistas evalúa cada aspecto de la obra de Said, sus contribuciones a la teoría postcolonial, su trabajo sobre el racismo y el origen étnico, su estética y su resistencia a la estetización de la política, sus conceptos de figuración, su evaluación de la función del exilio en una cultura metropolitana, y su trabajo en la música y las artes visuales A distinguished panel of contributors assess and expand Edward Said's many contributions to the study of colonialism, imperialism and representation that have marked his career-long struggle to end conflict and further the effort to build civilizati JR I wanted to start this evening by way of introduction with Edward Said's own words from two of my favorite books of his.