More than three decades after its first publication, Edward Said’s groundbreaking critique of the West’s historical, cultural, and political perceptions of the East, Orientalism has become a modern classic.
In this wide-ranging, intellectually vigorous study, Said traces the origins of “orientalism” to the centuries-long period during which Europe dominated the Middle and Near East and, from its position of power, defined “the orient” simply as “other than” the occident. This entrenched view continues to dominate western ideas and, because it does not allow the East to represent itself, prevents true understanding. Essential, and still eye-opening, Orientalism remains one of the most important books written about our divided world.
Editorial Reviews
Review
“Intellectual history on a high order . . . and very exciting.” —The New York Times
“Powerful and disturbing. . . . The theme is the way in which intellectual traditions are created and transmitted.” —The New York Review of Books
“Stimulating, elegant yet pugnacious. . . . Said observes the West observing the Arabs, and he does not like what he finds.” —The Observer
“An important book. . . . Never has there been as sustained and as persuasive a case against Orientalism as Said’s.” —Jerusalem Post
From the Inside Flap
The noted critic and a Palestinian now teaching at Columbia University,examines the way in which the West observes the Arabs.
From the Back Cover
The noted critic and a Palestinian now teaching at Columbia University, examines the way in which the West observes the Arabs.
About the Author
Edward W. Said was born in 1935 in Jerusalem, raised in Jerusalem and Cairo, and educated in the United States, where he attended Princeton (B.A. 1957) and Harvard (M.A. 1960; Ph.D. 1964). In 1963, he began teaching at Columbia University, where he was University Professor of English and Comparative Literature. He died in 2003 in New York City.
He is the author of twenty-two books which have been translated into 35 languages, including Orientalism (1978); The Question of Palestine (1979); Covering Islam (1980); The World, the Text, and the Critic (1983); Culture and Imperialism (1993); Peace and Its Discontents: Essays on Palestine and the Middle East Peace Process (1996); and Out of Place: A Memoir (1999). Besides his academic work, he wrote a twice-monthly column for Al-Hayat and Al-Ahram; was a regular contributor to newspapers in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East; and was the music critic for The Nation.
