Unsettling the World: Edward Said and Political Theory

Description

Unsettling the World is the first book-length treatment of Edward Said’s influential cultural criticism from the perspective of a political theorist. Arguing that the generative power of Said’s thought extends well beyond Orientalism, the book explores Said’s writings on the experience of exile, the practice of “contrapuntal” criticism, and the illuminating potential of worldly humanism. Said’s critical vision, Morefield argues, provides a fresh perspective on debates in political theory about subjectivity, global justice, identity, and the history of political thought. Most importantly, she maintains, Said’s approach offers theorists a model of how to bring the insights developed through historical analyses of imperialism and anti-colonialism to bear on critiques of contemporary global crises and the politics of American foreign policy. Cover Dedication Acknowledgments Contents Series Editor’s Introduction Prelude Introduction Writing at a Distance A Cluster of Flowing Currents Into the Language of Music Bridge Reading You in Your Presence The Honeypots of Our Minds The Treason of the Intellectuals Coda Notes Index About the Author