Edward Said seems like a prophet: 20 years on, ‘there’s hunger for his narrative’
As war rages in Gaza, the scholar and activist’s words feel prescient. That’s because so little has changed
Twenty years after his death in 2003, Edward Said – a man variously known for his groundbreaking scholarship, dogged political advocacy, fine-tuned musical abilities, and serious sense of fashion – continues to inspire. This time around, Said’s words and presence appear to answer a specific need prompted by Israel’s assault on Gaza, a campaign so calculated and unrelenting that it has been ruled plausibly genocidal by the international court of justice. It’s not easy to know how one should respond to such evil, and many appear to be turning to Said as their guide.
Finding old clips of Edward Said on social media was never very difficult, but since the Hamas attacks of 7 October, Said’s ideas, quotes and archival clips have been widely disseminated across a range of books, journals and platforms.
After Columbia University suspended its campus chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace last November, the satirical website the Pigeon Post ridiculed Columbia, Said’s stomping ground for nearly 40 years, with Said’s very words. “Edward Said once wrote: ‘Our role is to widen the field of discussion, not to set limits in accord with the prevailing authority.’ Therefore, Columbia University is suspending Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace,” the website read, pigeon tongue planted firmly in pigeon cheek. Gerrie Lim, the twentysomething creator of the Pigeon Post, followed it up with a TikTok explainer video about Said highlighting Columbia’s hypocrisy of once supporting Said’s right to free speech on Palestine but now curtailing students’ speech on the same topic.... READ MORE https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/15/edward-said-palestine-israel-gaza?CMP=share_btn_tw
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