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Edward Wadie Said

エドワード・ワディー・サイード

Edward Wadie Said

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1935-11-01 （Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine）
Died
2003-09-24 （New York City, U.S.） age 67
Nationality
Palestinian, American
Languages
English, Arabic, French
Religion
Protestant (background); later agnostic
Residence History
Jerusalem → Cairo, Egypt → Northfield Mount Hermon School, Massachusetts, U.S. → Princeton, New Jersey, U.S. → New York City (Columbia University), U.S.

Career

Occupations
academic, literary critic, political activist, author, music critic, pianist
Active Years
1957-2003
Affiliations
Columbia University, Former president, Modern Language Association (MLA), American Academy of Arts and Sciences, International PEN (executive board), American Academy of Arts and Letters, Royal Society of Literature, Council on Foreign Relations, American Philosophical Society
Memberships
Palestinian National Council (former independent member), International PEN (executive board), Modern Language Association (former president)
Influenced By
Antonio Gramsci, Frantz Fanon, Aimé Césaire, Michel Foucault, Theodor W. Adorno
Influenced
Homi K. Bhabha, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Hamid Dabashi, Gyan Prakash, Numerous scholars in post-colonial and cultural studies

Education

St. George's School, Jerusalem
Period: 幼年期〜1940年代
Country: Mandatory Palestine
Attended in childhood; studies disrupted by intercommunal violence.
Victoria College (Cairo branch)
Period: 1940年代〜1951年
Country: Egypt
Expelled in 1951 for disciplinary reasons; academically strong.
Northfield Mount Hermon School
Period: 1950年代
Country: United States
Elite prep school; ranked valedictorian or salutatorian.
Princeton University
English
Degree: A.B. (Bachelor of Arts)
Period: 1953–1957
Year of Graduation: 1957
Country: United States
Senior thesis: "The Moral Vision: André Gide and Graham Greene"
Harvard University
English Literature
Degree: M.A.
Period: 1957–1960
Year of Graduation: 1960
Country: United States
Completed master's degree
Harvard University
English Literature
Degree: Ph.D.
Period: 1960–1964
Year of Graduation: 1964
Country: United States
PhD awarded; doctoral dissertation formed basis of first book.

Awards

Bowdoin Prize
Organization: Harvard University
Result: 受賞
Lionel Trilling Book Award
1976
Work: Beginnings: Intention and Method
Organization: Unknown (literary award)
Result: 受賞
Wellek Prize (American Comparative Literature Association)
Organization: American Comparative Literature Association
Result: 受賞
Spinoza (Lens) Prize (inaugural)
Organization: Spinoza-lens
Result: 受賞
Lannan Literary Award (Lifetime Achievement)
2001
Category: 生涯功労
Organization: Lannan Foundation
Result: 受賞
Prince (Princess) of Asturias Award for Concord (shared with Daniel Barenboim)
2002
Category: Concord / 調和
Organization: Princess of Asturias Foundation
Result: 受賞（共同受賞）
Sultan Owais Prize (for Cultural & Scientific Achievements)
1997
Organization: Al Owais (Sultan Owais Prize)
Result: 受賞
The New Yorker Book Award (Non-Fiction)
1999
Work: Out of Place
Organization: The New Yorker
Result: 受賞
Anisfield-Wolf Book Award (Non-Fiction)
2000
Work: Out of Place
Organization: Anisfield-Wolf
Result: 受賞
Morton Dauwen Zabel Award in Literature
2000
Work: Out of Place
Organization: Unknown
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Orientalism

1978 cultural criticism / post-colonial theory

Analyzes how the West has constructed and represented the 'Orient', arguing that academic representations function as instruments of imperial power; a foundational text of post-colonial studies.

imperialismrepresentationpower/knowledgecultural stereotyping

Joseph Conrad and the Fiction of Autobiography

1966 literary study / criticism

Based on his doctoral dissertation, examines autobiographical elements in Joseph Conrad's fiction and their critical implications.

autobiographymodernist fictionauthorial identity

Culture and Imperialism

1993 cultural criticism / postcolonial studies

Explores how imperialism is embedded in cultural narratives and literature, examining the relationship between literature and empire.

cultural archivelegacies of empireliterature and politics

Out of Place

1999 memoir / autobiography

Autobiography covering childhood, academic life, and political engagement; themes of diaspora and belonging.

exileidentitybelonging

Covering Islam: How the Media and the Experts Determine How We See the Rest of the World

1997 media criticism / cultural studies

A critical analysis of how Western media represent and report on the Islamic world.

media representationbiassecurity reporting

Bibliography

  • Joseph Conrad and the Fiction of Autobiography (1966)
  • Beginnings: Intention and Method (1974)
  • Orientalism (1978)
  • The Question of Palestine (1979)
  • Culture and Imperialism (1993)
  • Out of Place (1999)
  • Covering Islam (revised edition, 1997)
  • Representations of the Intellectual (1994)

Adaptations

  • In Search of Palestine (BBC documentary, 1998)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
interdisciplinary, theoretical criticismclear, essayistic argumentative styleanalysis at the intersection of history, politics and literature
Recurring Motifs
exile and diasporacritique of imperialism/colonialismrepresentation and power

Health

  • chronic lymphocytic leukemia
    約1991年頃〜2003年（12年間）
    Suffered a 12-year illness culminating in death in 2003. Continued to write and lecture despite health constraints.

Legacy

Orientalism became a foundational text for postcolonial studies, significantly influencing literary, cultural, and Middle Eastern studies. Said's combination of scholarship and public political engagement made him a prominent and contested public intellectual of the late 20th century.

Museums

  • Edward Said National Conservatory of Music (renamed) Birzeit University (Palestine) Opened in 2004

Academic Societies

  • American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  • American Academy of Arts and Letters
  • Royal Society of Literature

Archives

  • Columbia University Rare Book & Manuscript Library (Edward Said papers)

In Popular Culture

  • Numerous tributes and essays, e.g. Waiting for the Barbarians: A Tribute to Edward W. Said
  • Co-founded the West–Eastern Divan Orchestra with Daniel Barenboim (symbol of musical cultural dialogue)

Quotes

  • The role of the public intellectual is "to sift, to judge, to criticize, to choose, so that choice and agency return to the individual."
    Source: Reith Lectures: Representation of the Intellectual (1993) (1993)

Trivia

  • Photographed throwing a stone at the Blue Line (Lebanon–Israel border) in 2000, provoking controversy (said he acted symbolically).
  • Was an accomplished pianist and wrote several books on music.
  • Co-founded the West–Eastern Divan Orchestra with Daniel Barenboim in 1999.