Edward Said / Key Contemporary Thinkers (PDF)

Edward Said is one of the foremost thinkers writing today. His work
as a literary and cultural critic, a political commentator, and the
champion of the cause of Palestinian rights has given him a unique
position in western intellectual life. This new book is a major
exploration and assessment of his writings in all these main areas.

Focusing on Said's insistence on the connection between
literature, politics and culture, Kennedy offers an overview and
assessment of the main strands of Said's work, drawing out the
links and contradictions between each area. The book begins with an
examination of Orientalism, one of the founding texts of
post-colonial studies. Kennedy looks at the book in detail, probing
both its strengths and weaknesses, and linking it to its sequel,
Culture and Imperialism. She then examines Said's work on
the Palestinian people, with his emphasis on the need for a
Palestinian narrative to counter pro-Israeli accounts of the Middle
East, and his searing criticisms of US, Israeli, and even Arab
governments. The book closes with an examination of Said's
importance in the field of post-colonial studies, notably colonial
discourse analysis and post-colonial theory, and his significance
as a public intellectual.

This book will be of great interest to anyone studying
post-colonialism, literary theory, politics, and the Middle East,
as well as anyone interested in Said's writings.