Edward W. Said is known worldwide as an intellectual committed to the deconstructive analysis of processes of cultural hegemony brought about by both colonialism and imperialism. Cultivated from diverse Western theoretical sources, such as Foucault, Gramsci, and Derrida, he formed his own critical discourse which over time has developed into what we now call postcolonial studies. Right from the time he started to gain media and academic recognition through his book Orientalism —a piece of work directly resulting from his experiences in the events of May 1968 and the Palestinian crisis—, he received fierce criticism from specialists such as Lewis, Gellner and Clifford. Nevertheless, the book has continued to have public success and still does so today, possibly because it represents the self-critical spirit of the time. In an approach started and lead by the collective work of El orientalismo desde el Sur (2006), the author of this article aims to distinguish between scientific criticism, which does not oppose, but recognises, many aspects of Said’s work, and moral commitment, appropriate for an intellectual who is honest with himself and with the struggles of his time.
Orientalism, Edward W. Said, Orient, West.