Edward W.Said (1935-2003): A Continuing Legacy Conference & Cultural Evening
Professor Edward Said was one of the 20th century's foremost public intellectuals. Ever since his emergence as an intellectual and an academic in the mid-1960s and until his death in Sept. 2003, Said's eloquent and innovative academic interventions made him the subject of admiration and controversy in almost equal measure. Said, a lifelong activist for the cause of human rights and dignity will long be remembered as an unflinching campaigner, a challenging intellectual and a dedicated teacher.
Throughout the 1990s, Said's newspaper columns provided a constant critique of the depradations, falsehoods and failures of the Oslo "peace process" that led only to the further alienation of Palestinians from their land and a betrayal of the vision of reconciliation and justice for which he strived. Said was among the first to understand and articulate how this process, premised on preserving the vast power imbalances and injustices between Israelis and Palestinians, would lead to the present disaster. Said's books, among them "The Question of Palestine," "The Politics of Dispossession," remain seminal works which both personalize and humanize the Palestinian predicament and place it in political context.
The Commemorative Conference
In the year that has followed his passing, innumerable tributes from friends, admirers and critics alike have underscored the enormity of Said's impact as a humanist and public intellectual, campaigner and cultural critic. The Palestine Society decided in late 2003 that it would play its part in honouring and remembering the late professor by hosting an event that reflects the spirit of intellectual inquiry Said embodied and lived by throughout his life. The conference is therefore neither a eulogy nor a celebration, but rather a commemoration of Said's lifetime achievement of transgressing boundaries and opening up spheres of knowledge.
The event has been designed to cover disciplines and thematic areas where the life and work of Edward Said have and continue to be of profound importance. The organisers hope in this one day event to shed light on some of the fields in which Said's work is indispensable. These inter-connected areas and disciplines have been grouped in four sessions; postcolonial studies, media studies, literature and literary criticism and Palestine, politics and history.
Download the Registration Form <http://palestinesociety.hostinguk.com/media/registration1.pdf>
Programme REGISTRATION: 9:45-10:15 Opening of Conference - Mariam C. Said (10:20)
FIRST SESSION: Postcolonial Studies (10:30) Chair Person - Dr Joseph Massad (Columbia University)
Speaker: Professor Benita Parry (Warwick University) Title: 'Some Considerations on Edward Said's Methodology'
Speaker: Professor Neil Lazarus (Warwick University) Title: 'Postcolonial Literature: Reader, Ideology and Representations of the Intellectual'
Speaker: Professor Stuart Hall (Emeritus at the Open University) Title: 'Edward W. Said and the Postcolonial Turn'
Tea and coffee will be served in the interval
Second Session: Said and the Media: 'Experts', the Media And How We See The World (12.00)
Chairperson: Professor G. Philo (University of Glasgow)
Speaker: Graham Usher (The Economist, Middle East International) Title: 'Covering Palestine'
Speaker: Alexander Cockburn (Counterpunch, The Nation and New Left Review) Title: 'Too Smart for their Comfort: Edward Said, Palestine and the US Press 1977-2003'
Speaker: Hani Shukrallah (Editor In Chief, Al-Ahram Weekly) Title: 'A Place in the Wilderness: Edward Said in the Arab Media'
LUNCH: 13:45 Refreshments and light buffet will be provided
Third Session: Literature and Literary Criticism: (14:45) Chairperson: Professor Sabry Hafez (SOAS, University of London)
Speaker:Professor Ferial J. Ghazoul (American University in Cairo) Title: 'Said's Critical Approach to Fiction'
Speaker: Tom Paulin (Hertford College, Oxford) Title: 'Edward Said: On the Artist, the Critic and the Performance'
Speaker: Professor Timothy Brennan (University of Minnesota) Title: 'Said and Comparative Literature'
Tea and coffee will be served in the interval
Fourth Session: Palestine, Politics and History (16:15) Chairperson: Dr Nur Masalha (University of Surrey)
Speaker: Professor Ella Shohat (New York University) Title: 'Travelling Postcolonial': Edward Said between the American and the Israeli Contexts
Speaker: Dr. Nadia Abu El-Haj (Columbia University) Title:'Historical Facts and Contemporary Realities': The Practice of Archaeology and the Making of Israeli Settler-Nationhood
Speaker: Dr Joseph Massad (Columbia University) Title: 'Palestine from the Standpoint of Edward Said'
Cultural Evening at Union Chapel (19:45) Cultural Evening In recognition of Said's own passion for music, the Palestine Society in association with the British Museum Arab World Education Programme has arranged for an evening of Palestinian poetry and music to follow the conference. In keeping with the spirit of the day, the evening will celebrate the work of artists whose own work reflect the rich cultural tapestry of Palestine.
The Cultural Evening will begin at 7:45pm on the evening of the conference and will be held at the Union Chapel, Islington.
Profiles of Artists
Shab Abed is a young Palestinian guitarist and song-writer born and raised in the town of B'ir Saba', southern Palestine. Accompanied by guitar and blended with jazz motifs, Abed describes his music as 'Songs of Protest', covering themes such as inequality and human rights. He has played in various cities, towns, villages and universities throughout Palestine.
Ehab Bessaiso is a Palestinian writer and poet born in Gaza. Involved in media studies in the Arab world, he has contributed widely to literary events and publications in the UK and Palestine. A collection of his poetry 'The Albatross of the Blurred Skyline' was recently published in Beirut.
Marwan Abado (Marwan's website <http://www.abado.net>) is a Palestinian singer, composer and oud player. Born a refugee in Lebanon, he later moved to Austria to continue his studies. Currently performing as a solo musician and member of ensembles in Austria and worldwide. Abado's music is an improvisational mix of Oriental forms and Western elements.
Imad Mukari is a Palestinian musician born in Yarmouk refugee camp, Syria. He plays traditional Palestinian instruments, such as the yarghoull and mijwez (flute). Having acquired his talents from his father, passed on through oral tradition, Imad later studied at the Institute of Popular Arts and has since been a member of various musical ensembles such as al-Ashiqeen and al-Quds, while also participating in several international festivals.
How to get to Conference
Institute of Education (Logan Hall) University of London 20 Bedford Way London WC1H 0AL Tube: Russell Square Buses: 7, 59, 68, 91, 168, 188 Map: <http://palestinesociety.hostinguk.com/said/images/IoEMap.gif>
How to get to the Cultural Evening:
Union Chapel Compton Terrace London N1 2UN Tube : Highbury and Islington Buses : 4, 19, 30, 43, 271, 277, 279 Map: <http://palestinesociety.hostinguk.com/said/images/map.gif>
For further information:
SOAS Palestine Society, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London, WC1H 0XG Phone: 0207 898 4340 Email: palsoc at soas.ac.uk
Sponsors Sir Joseph Hotung Fund SOAS Directorate London Middle East Institute
A.M Qattan Arab League International Arab Charity Palestine National Fund Palestinian General Delegation UK Richard Rogers Charitable Settlement Zed Properties Ltd.
Al-Awda Coalition (UK) Palestine Solidarity Campaign
AUT (SOAS) Unison (SOAS) Trade Union Friends of Palestine National Union of Journalists RMT SOAS Students' Union Institute of Education Students' Union Supporters and Participants
Aljazeera Al-Hayat Al Quds Al Arabi Asharq Al Awsat Arab Club Friends of Bir Zeit University LSE Friends of Palestine Queen Mary Friends of Palestine University of Westminster Friends of Palestine Goldsmith's College Friends of Palestine
Al Saqi Books Kegan Paul Ltd. New Left Review The Oxford Publicity Partership Pluto Press Routledge Arris Books Berghahn Books Bookmarks Zed Books *In addition, we would like to acknowledge the generous private donations of all those individuals and organisations that have supported this event.
<http://www.palestinesociety.org/said> -- Yoshie
* Critical Montages: <http://montages.blogspot.com/> * Greens for Nader: <http://greensfornader.net/> * Bring Them Home Now! <http://www.bringthemhomenow.org/> * Calendars of Events in Columbus: <http://sif.org.ohio-state.edu/calendar.html>, <http://www.freepress.org/calendar.php>, & <http://www.cpanews.org/> * Student International Forum: <http://sif.org.ohio-state.edu/> * Committee for Justice in Palestine: <http://www.osudivest.org/> * Al-Awda-Ohio: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Al-Awda-Ohio> * Solidarity: <http://www.solidarity-us.org/>
