Forms of Representation in the Works of Edward Said

Abstract

Said's postulations have a constitutive influence on Post-Colonial criticism. Being a practicing critic, an academic in one of the most renowned universities in the United States (Columbia University), and an active intellectual in both the Arab and the American intellectual scenes testifies to the instrumental role he played and still plays in shaping critical orientations concerning the representation of the Arabs/Palestinians/ Muslims in and by the West. This thesis undertakes the discussion of Said's views concerning representation as an activity involved in all cultural practices. The first chapter addresses Said's views concerning the •• misguided representation of the Orient(als) in Western culture and the entailing translation of Orientalist discourse into political, economic and military domination. The second chapter deals with the dimension of resistance to imperialist domination, the emergence of nationalist consciousness and its fundamental impact on resistance cultures as it appears in Said's works. The third and final chapter investigates two main strains in Said's postulations: the first is the role of criticism as an activity informing and informed by the society in which it is practiced; and the second is the intellectual's function and position in society.