Edward Said

Edward W. Said (1935-2003) ranks as one of the most preeminent public intellectuals of our time. Through his literary criticism, his advocacy for the Palestinian cause, and his groundbreaking bookOrientalism,Said elegantly enriched public discourse by unsettling the status quo. This indispensable volume, the most comprehensive and wide-ranging resource on Edward Said's life and work, spans his broad legacy both within and beyond the academy. The book brings together contributions from thirty-one luminaries--leading scholars, critics, writers, and activists-to engage Said's provocative ideas. Their essays and interviews explore the key themes of emancipation and representation through the prisms of postcolonial theory, literature, music, philosophy, and cultural studies. A deeply humanistic work, the book offers a nuanced and meditative examination of many controversial issues that are as fiercely debated today as they were during Said's life--from imperialism, Zionism, and the Palestinian-Israeli impasse to exile, secularity, and role of the intellectual. Contributors: Bill Ashcroft, Ben Conisbee Baer, Daniel Barenboim, Timothy Brennan, Noam Chomsky, Denise DeCaires-Narain, Nicholas Dirks, Marc H. Ellis, Rokus de Groot, Sabry Hafez, Abdirahman A. Hussein, Ardi Imseis, Adel Iskandar, Ghada Karmi, Katherine Callen King, Joseph Massad, W. J. T. Mitchell, Laura Nader, Ilan Pappe, Benita Parry, Rajagopalan Radhakrishnan, Jahan Ramazani, Jacqueline Rose, Lecia Rosenthal, Hakem Rustom, Avi Shlaim, Ella Habiba Shohat, Robert Spencer, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Anastasia Valassopoulos, Asha Varadharajan, Michael Wood

Adel Iskandar is a Lecturer at the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Georgetown University. He is the author of Al-Jazeera: The Story of the Network That is Rattling Governments and Redefining Modern Journalism. Hakem Rustom is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Anthropology at the London School of Economics.