This special issue of Social Text pays tribute to the work of Edward Said, an admired colleague and friend. The almost three years since Said’s untimely death (September 25, 2003) have made his achievements and interventions only more relevant. Though … Continue reading “Introduction: EDWARD SAID: A MEMORIAL ISSUE”
Issue: Issue 087 Edward Said Memorial
Edward Said: A Memorial Issue
Orientalism and the Open Horizon of Secular Criticism
kerriI have considered Edward Said’s work at length on various occasions in the past, concerning problems of nationalism or comparative literature, Theodor Adorno, Jean Genet, or music, while more recently Said’s concept and practice of secular criticism, which underlies the … Continue reading “Orientalism and the Open Horizon of Secular Criticism”
"What Would Said Say?": REFLECTIONS ON TRADITION, IMPERIALISM, AND GLOBALISM
sura p. rathLately there has been much loose talk about tradition. Whether the rise in the desire to revive “tradition” as a conceptual framework for one’s political, religious, or sociocultural convictions and action derives from the parallel rise of political conservatism in … Continue reading “"What Would Said Say?": REFLECTIONS ON TRADITION, IMPERIALISM, AND GLOBALISM”
Edward Said, Reuben Sachs, and Victorian Zionism
Iveta JusovaThis essay is intended both as a specific study of interconnected moments in nineteenth-century British literature and as an opportunity to explore the cultural and political imagination of a people and its sites of production, reproduction, or transformation. Taking our … Continue reading “Edward Said, Reuben Sachs, and Victorian Zionism”
Edward Said: "The Last Jewish Intellectual": ON IDENTITY, ALTERITY, AND THE POLITICS OF MEMORY
gil z. hochbergIn an interview with the Israeli daily Ha-aretz published in August 2000, Edward Said concluded a discussion about home, belonging, and exile with the somewhat surprising announcement: “I am the last Jewish intellectual . . . the only true follower … Continue reading “Edward Said: "The Last Jewish Intellectual": ON IDENTITY, ALTERITY, AND THE POLITICS OF MEMORY”
The Interference of al-Andalus: SPAIN, ISLAM, AND THE WEST
hishaam d. aidiOf the African American volunteer fighters who heeded the call of the Communist International in 1936 and went to battle Franco’s fascist forces in the Spanish civil war, most were galvanized not only by socialist and anti-imperial ideals but also … Continue reading “The Interference of al-Andalus: SPAIN, ISLAM, AND THE WEST”
The Filipina's Breast: SAVAGERY, DOCILITY, AND THE EROTICS OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE
nerissa balceIn colonial documents, savage breasts were signs of conquest. From accounts of European explorers such as Columbus and Magellan, to nineteenth-century maps of the Pacific drawn by American cartographers, to American postcards featuring Native American women, the bare brown bosoms … Continue reading “The Filipina's Breast: SAVAGERY, DOCILITY, AND THE EROTICS OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE”
The Recourses of Necessity: REPETITION, SECULAR MOURNING, AND EDWARD SAID'S INVENTORIES OF LATE RETURN
ana dopicoTrying to trace the preoccupations, anxieties, and ambition of Edward Said’s repertoire, one is struck by the constancy and repetition, the rigorous development of critical themes and variations, which, true to the vocation of the public intellectual, retain their integrity … Continue reading “The Recourses of Necessity: REPETITION, SECULAR MOURNING, AND EDWARD SAID'S INVENTORIES OF LATE RETURN”
Edward Said's Lieux de Mémoire: OUT OF PLACE AND THE POLITICS OF AUTOBIOGRAPHY
ioana lucaThe contemporary theoretical scene on autobiography, or “life writing” (a term preferred by many of the newer critics), has been thriving in recent years, providing many different or even contradictory perspectives on this literary genre, whose definition and scope have … Continue reading “Edward Said's Lieux de Mémoire: OUT OF PLACE AND THE POLITICS OF AUTOBIOGRAPHY”