Edward Said

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Edward Said
See also Wikipedia's article about "Edward Said".

Edward Said was a professor of English and Comparative Literature who espoused the theory of Orientalism. Chances are that you will have read an article of his in University Writing, or bumped into his work in a Major Cultures class. Either way, you will not escape Columbia without having read or pretended to read at least something by him.

Rock-throwing incident

In 2000, Said was photographed throwing a rock over the border between the Palestinian territories and Israel. This caused a flurry of condemnation in the press, but Provost Alan Brinkley said the university would take no action agaist Said, and defended his action on grounds of freedom of expression.

Death and legacy

Said died in New York on September 25, 2003 at age 67 after an 11 year long battle with leukemia.[1]

He is the only professor to have won the Lionel Trilling Book Award twice. The Edward Said Memorial Lecture was established in his honour by the Heyman Center in 2005. A professorship endowed in his name is held by Middle East historian Rashid Khalidi.

References

  1. "Famed Professor Said Dies at 67", Columbia Spectator, 9/26/03