Edward Said: the paradox of identity

Abstract

Edward Said is one of the most important literary, political and cultural theorists of the contemporary world. But until now no one has attempted to assess and explain the significance of his journalism and scholarship in one accessible full-length volume. In this refreshingly clear and timely introduction to Said and his work, Bill Ashcroft and Pal Ahluwalia set out the key tenets of his position and the context out of which his work emerges. Whilst acknowledging the crucial importance of his best-known and most paradigm shifting early work Orientalism , they unravel for the first time the vital part played in his writings by the concept of 'worldliness'. They also illuminate Said's subtle demonstration of the paradoxical nature of 'identity' in the post-colonial world. Edward Said is an extremely useful and enlightening introduction to a key figure for twenty-first-century thought.

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