Nearly 100 people gathered Tuesday to celebrate the life and works of Edward Said, a controversial intellectual and political activist, who died last week in New York City. Said was a literature professor at Columbia University, but was more popularly known for his defense of the Palestinian position in the Middle East conflict.
Associate Professor of Literature Grant Farred opened last night's discussion at the Duke University Museum of Art by stressing the importance of bringing together a cross-disciplinary group for a discussion of Said and his work.
"The Palestinian question was all over Said's work," Farred said. "He tried to make a connection between the work we do in the academy and the world outside."
Fredric Jameson, professor of literature, talked about the multiple dimensions of Said's intellectual persona, particularly the global understanding that Said demonstrated in his work.
Jameson also discussed Said as a political activist, and how his positions on the Israel-Palestine conflict were met with extreme resistance during his time. Jameson cited Said's ability "to insist that people talk about Palestine" as his greatest political achievement Rebecca Stein, assistant professor of cultural anthropology, made further mention of Said's political positions. She emphasized the "loneliness" that Said likely felt as a proponent of unpopular positions, including his opposition to the Oslo Peace Accord of 1993, which caused many in the United States to label him a terrorist.
Said's passion for political activism manifested itself in many ways. Ellen McLarney spoke about Said's love for music--which she witnessed first-hand as his student--and connected that interest to his political and intellectual experiences.
"He played out operas on the classroom piano," said McLarney, a lecturer in the department of Asian and African languages and literature. "He knew how pain and suffering, ugly and bloody, can be made into something beautiful."
In contrast to the largely intellectual speeches of the other panelists, Assistant Professor of Asian & African Languages and Literature Mekhala Natavar spoke of her family's personal relationship with Said, who was a close friend of her father.
"He was our favorite family guest," said Natavar. "None of the kids would ever do homework. We would just sit in the living room and listen to his wild stories."
Sprinkling humor among her more serious remarks, Natavar described Said as a "fiercely loyal friend and a great individual."
Natavar related to the audience one of Said's last comments that expressed his vision for the future: "We must put aside our personal differences and work to make this a more humane world."
Senior Yousuf al-Bulushi, a Chronicle columnist, also spoke on a personal note. He said that his sister had observed first-hand at Columbia University the opposition that Said faced from students and colleagues, citing an incident in which Said was called to resign his professorship after he made waves by throwing a rock across the Israeli border in an act of protest.
Alvaro Reyes, a graduate student in the literature department, strongly praised the event and those who spoke.
"It was interesting how the speakers talked about the different aspects of his life-- a critic, musician, intellectual--and how they are all connected," he said.
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