The Cambridge Introduction to Edward Said

A concise, informative and clearly written introduction for students beginning to study Said.

Conor McCarthy (Author)

9780521864534, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 22 July 2010

170 pages
23.5 x 15.6 x 1.4 cm, 0.4 kg

"Conor McCarthy presents a lucid and highly readable overview of the oeuvre of one of the major intellectuals of our time." --College Literature: A Journal of Critical Literary Studies

One of the most famous literary critics of the twentieth century, Edward Said's work has been hugely influential far beyond academia. As a prominent advocate for the Palestinian cause and a noted music critic, Said redefined the role of the public intellectual. In his books, as scholarly as they are readable, he challenged conventional critical demarcations between disciplines. His major opus, Orientalism, is a key text in postcolonial studies that continues to influence as well as challenge scholars in the field. Conor McCarthy introduces the reader to Said's major works and examines how his work and life were intertwined. He explains recurring themes in Said's writings on literature and empire, on intellectuals and literary theory, on music and on the Israel/Palestine conflict. This concise, informative and clearly written introduction for students beginning to study Said is ideally set up to explain the complexities of his work to new audiences.

1. Introduction: beginning with Edward Said: history, biography, criticism
2. Influences: phenomenology, philology, Marxism, poststructuralism
3. Works: Beginnings: Intention and Method (1975)
Orientalism (1978)
The Question of Palestine (1979)
The World, the Text, and the Critic (1983)
Culture and Imperialism (1993)
4. Reception
Guide to further reading
Index.

Subject Areas: Literary theory [DSA], Literature & literary studies [D]