A man of great intelligence and courage, Edward Said (1935-2003) taught English and comparative literature at Columbia University. This Palestinian writer and activist was widely respected for his groundbreaking research in the field of comparative literature and for his incisive political commentary. He has also written classical music reviews for The Nation and political commentary for publications including the Guardian, Le Monde Diplomatique and al-Hayat, the Arabic-language daily newspaper printed in all Arab capitals around the world. in Jerusalem, and with his family he emigrated (1948) to Cairo, around the time Israel declared its independence and the Arab-Israeli War began. The family moved (1950) to New York so he could attend college. Said later studied at Princeton and Harvard, where he received his doctorate. in 1964. Most of his academic career was spent in New York as a professor at Columbia, but he also served as a visiting professor at many leading universities. Like Noam Chomsky, he became a leading intellectual. Both activists see the public role of the intellectual more or less as that of an outsider, an amateur, and a disruptor of the status quo. Both criticize the media for being obstacles to understanding what governments actually do behind closed doors, thereby fostering a sense of resistance. He has taught at more than 150 universities and colleges in the United States, Canada and Europe. Due to his advocacy of Palestinian self-determination and his membership in the Palestinian National Council, he was only recently allowed to visit Palestine. Said published many important books, including Orientalism (1978), a critique of the Eurocentrism that has come to characterize the Orient. ...... middle of paper ......s to politics, oil economics and the simple-minded dichotomy between a democratic, freedom-loving Israel and evil, totalitarian, terrorist Arabs, establishing a clear vision of the The Middle East has become difficult. My experiences in these areas prompted me to write this. Life as an Arab Palestinian in the West is quite discouraging, as the web of racism, cultural stereotypes, political imperialism, etc. surrounds it. is very strong. The connection between knowledge and power that creates "the Oriental" and, in a sense, establishes him as a human being is not (for me) an exclusively academic question. I was able to use my humanist and political concern for the development and consolidation of orientalism (p. 52). Works Cited Said, Edward W. 1978. “Orientalism.” In Studies in Culture: An Introductory Reader, ed. Ann Gray and Jim McGuigan. London: Arnold, 1997, p... 42-53.