Edward Said, 1935 - 2003

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Edward Said was one of those rare academics: he managed to catalyze a new sphere of social and cultural theory: post-colonialism. In his book "Orientalism" Said deftly--though at times inaccessibly--reviews the canons of English, French and German science, social science and literature, demonstrating how Western cultures have exoticized and objectified the Orient. It is a book that has changed the world.

Said was a Christian Palestinian who left Jerusalem as a teenager to study in Cairo, then the US. He was a vociferous critic of Israel, and eventually Arafat and the PLO. I can't say I always agreed with him--but I appreciate his formidable body of work.