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Holding Nations And Traditions At Bay

Edward Said explores the role of intellectuals from different cultures and backgrounds, and the choices they face when deciding to side with the powerful or with the underdog.

This year's Reith lecturer is the Palestinian American academic, political activist, and literary critic Edward Said. He joined the faculty of Columbia University in 1963 where he is now Professor of English and Comparative Literature. Regarded as one of the founders of post-colonial theory, his 1978 book Orientalism is one of the most influential scholarly books of the 20th century.

In his second lecture, Edward Said explores the role of intellectuals from different cultures and backgrounds, and the choices that face them when deciding to side with the powerful or with the underdog. He examines that problems of loyalty and nationalism for intellectuals, and argues that their role is primarily to question.

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30 minutes

Broadcast

  • Wed 30 Jun 1993 09:00

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