New Historicism and Cultural Studies

Biography:

An influential literary critic and theorist as well as a significant political figure, especially as an advocate of the rights of Palestinians. He was born in Jerusalem, Palestine, which had been controlled by Great Britain since 1922. The resulting political tension and fighting within Palestine led Said's family to emigrate to Cairo at the end of 1947. He attended St. George's, an Anglican preparatory school, and Victoria College. After Said was expelled from school for disciplinary reason in 1951, his father sent him to Mount Hermon, a preparatory school Massachusetts, to complete high school and to gain U.S citizenship, which he gained in 1953. He is perfect as an outside, constantly critical of everything, critical of Palestinian authority; accused by Islamic world of being too Westernized, and by Westerns he was accused of sympathizing with the Islamic world.

Historical Background:

- In July 1922, the League of Nations adopted Palestine, and stated that it should be a British mandate (under the control of Britain).

- In May 1947, the United Nations decided to divide Palestine into Arab and Jewish territories and place the city of Jerusalem under its control.

- In 14 of May 1948 Israel was declared an independent state.

- In 1948 Israel was celebrated in the West as the restoration of a Jewish homeland, Palestinians called it the nakbah, or "disaster"; Said comments, "Israel was established; Palestine was destroyed."

General idea of Orientalism:

Said's Orientalism was published in 1978. His work is often regarded as having established the field of postcolonial studies; his work has focused particularly on imperialism and the interplay between the dominant West and the Middle and Far East. Said discusses how Europeans and U.S literary and cultural representation, academic disciplines, and public perceptions foster biases against non-Western peoples, casting them as oriental...