Ressources numériques en sciences humaines et sociales OpenEdition Nos plateformes OpenEdition Books OpenEdition Journals Hypothèses Calenda Bibliothèques OpenEdition Freemium Suivez-nous

Parution : Nubar Hovsepian, Edward Said: The Politics of an Oppositional Intellectual, AUC Press, 2025 + Book discussion — Online, 21 May 2025

 
Edward Said
The Politics of an Oppositional Intellectual

by Nubar Hovsepian

Foreword by Rashid Khalidi

 

 

 

 

 

An exploration of the political thought of one of the twentieth century’s most influential thinkers and the foremost advocate for the Palestinian cause in the West

Edward Said was one of the most influential intellectuals of the twentieth century. A literary scholar with an aesthete’s temperament, he did not experience his political awakening until the 1967 Arab–Israeli war, which transformed his thinking and led him to forge ties with political groups and like-minded scholars. Said’s subsequent writings, which cast light on the interplay between cultural representation and the exercise of Western political power, caused a seismic shift in scholarly circles and beyond. In this intimate intellectual biography, by a close friend and confidant, Nubar Hovsepian offers fascinating insight into the evolution of Said’s political thought.

Through analysis of Said’s seminal works and the debates surrounding them, Edward Said: The Politics of an Oppositional Intellectual traces the influence of Foucault on Said, and how Said eventually diverged from this influence to arrive at a more pronounced understanding of agency, resistance, and liberation. He consequently affiliated more closely with Raymond Williams, Antonio Gramsci, and more contemporaneously, with his friends the late Eqbal Ahmad and Ibrahim Abu-Lughod.

Said held that it is the intellectual’s responsibility to expose lies and deceptions of the holders of power. A passionate advocate for the Palestinian cause, his solidarity did not prevent him from launching a sustained critique of the Palestinian leadership. Hovsepian charts both Said’s engagement with the Palestinian national movement and his exchanges with a host of intellectuals over Palestine, arguing that Said’s interventions have succeeded in changing the parameters of the discourse in the humanities, and among younger Jews searching for political affiliation.

Drawing on his diaries, in which he recorded his meetings with Said, as well as access to some of Said’s private letters, Hovsepian illuminates, in rich detail, the trajectory of Said’s political thinking and the depth and breadth of his engagement with peers and critics over issues that continue to resonate to this day.

À retrouver sur le site de l’éditeur


Zoom meeting, 7pm Cairo (GMT+3) | 5pm London| 12pm New York

 

Join us for a virtual book discussion of Edward Said: The Politics of an Oppositional Intellectual by Nubar Hovsepian (AUC Press, 2025), a profound exploration of the life, work, and legacy of one of the 20th century’s most influential thinkers and the foremost advocate for the Palestinian cause in the West.

The discussion will feature Nubar Hovsepian, who will be in conversation with David Barsamian, an author, lecturer, and investigative journalist, who founded Alternative Radio, an independent and award-winning weekly radio series based in Boulder, Colorado.

Together, they will explore the political, cultural, and personal dimensions of Edward Said’s thought—from his groundbreaking work Orientalism to his enduring advocacy for Palestinian rights and his vision for justice and humanism in global affairs. The conversation will also reflect on Said’s relevance in today’s world and Hovsepian’s unique insights as both a scholar and someone who knew Said personally.

Don’t miss this engaging discussion. Streamed live on the AUC Press Facebook page.

Register here.

 

About the speakers:

Nubar Hovsepian is an associate professor emeritus of political science at Chapman University in Orange, California. He is the author of Palestinian State Formation: Education and the Construction of National Identity, and he edited and contributed to The War on Lebanon. Hovsepian has devoted enormous time to the Israel/Palestine conflict and served, from 1982 to 1984, as political affairs officer for the United Nations Conference on the Question of Palestine.

David Barsamian, author, acclaimed journalist, interviewer, and award-winning radio host David Barsamian, founder of “Alternative Radio”.  He has authored books with Noam Chomsky, Eqbal Ahmad, Howard Zinn, Tariq Ali, Richard Wolff, Arundhati Roy, and Edward Said. He is the recipient of the Upton Sinclair Award, a Lannan Foundation Cultural Freedom Fellowship, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center. He has collaborated with the world-renowned Kronos Quartet in New York, London, Vienna, and elsewhere.

 

 

About the book:

An exploration of the political thought of one of the twentieth century’s most influential thinkers and the foremost advocate for the Palestinian cause in the West

Edward Said was one of the most influential intellectuals of the twentieth century. A literary scholar with an aesthete’s temperament, he did not experience his political awakening until the 1967 Arab–Israeli war, which transformed his thinking and led him to forge ties with political groups and like-minded scholars. Said’s subsequent writings, which cast light on the interplay between cultural representation and the exercise of Western political power, caused a seismic shift in scholarly circles and beyond. In this intimate intellectual biography, by a close friend and confidant, Nubar Hovsepian offers fascinating insight into the evolution of Said’s political thought.

À retrouver sur le site de l’éditeur


OpenEdition vous propose de citer ce billet de la manière suivante :
Chargé de diffusion scientifique (19 mai 2025). Parution : Nubar Hovsepian, Edward Said: The Politics of an Oppositional Intellectual, AUC Press, 2025 + Book discussion — Online, 21 May 2025. IISMM. Consulté le 19 juin 2025 à l’adresse https://doi.org/10.58079/13y5f


Vous aimerez aussi...