[Reader-list] Said and the Saidians

[shivam]

apologies to be subjecting you to Ramachandra Guha's brilliant
provocation once again.
shivam

o o o o o o


SAID AND THE SAIDIANS
- A very fine scholar, but not a great one

Politics and Play / Ramachandra Guha
ramguha at vsnl.com


Extract:

Consider thus the staggering worldwide influence of the Arab-American
scholar, Edward Said, of his book Orientalism, and of the intellectual
fashion that he inaugurated, known as "postcolonial theory". The man,
his work, and their influence are the subject of a wide-ranging
symposium in the latest issue of the prestigious Chicago-based
journal, Critical Inquiry. Reading this symposium, one is forced to
reach the conclusion that as a scholar, Said was greater than his
book, Orientalism, and that the book itself was more worthwhile than
the theoretical school it gave rise to.

see http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050514/asp/opinion/story_4726435.asp