Orientalism by Dr. Edward Said

Dr. Edward Said was a Palestinian-American and professor of literature at Columbia. Dr. Said wrote a fantastic book called Orientalism in the seventies about the psuedo-science/psudeo-study of "the orient."

He even revised the book as language modernized and the field of Orientalism came to an end. He called out Western coloniolists for what they were and retained his spot in academia among the departmental descendants of those false studies.

What's relevant now is that he is being resurrected. His voice against the Israeli regime and occupation of Palestine was clear and defiant.

He passed 20 years ago and now videos of him are being used to rally support for the genocide that's happening currently. I have written my thoughts in the 'poems' section titled after the dates they were written.

In paraphrasing Imani Barbarin, 'history is not written by the victors, it is survived by the recorders.' The field of 'Orientalism' was really just a tool or form of propaganda to generate interest and segregate the cultures of which the imperialsts wanted to conquer.

I don't think Dr. Said would have been surprised, as I was, when Israel took this opportunity to assault Gaza.

I hope the liberation of Palestine comes to matter. I hope history survives itself, and we are able to learn from the atrocities unfolding this very moment.

2023-10-18