Culture and Imperialism

Good book on Culture and imperialism.

The Age of Empire, a term coined by historian Eric Hobsbawm in his classic anthology narrating the rise of European Bourgeois society and industrial capitalism, seems long behind us. The very notion today seems like a crumbling relic, imperialism being a code word for a long dead political project, a yellowing photograph of Rhodes and Stanley sitting strident as Atlas over Africa, comes to mind whenever the term is brought up. But Said in his magnus opus asks the question: “what if imperialism was not simply a political project born of European realpolitik, but a whole encompassing form of thought and more importantly cultural production, one which very much still lingers in our collective unconscious and very ontology of the quotidian?” That’s the main focus of his now classical text in comparative literature, and Said does an incredible job of filling out how the concept, as vague as it may sound, of imperialism effaced every monument of European culture and in a way modern American culture throughout the long 19th century and up to the present day. An eye opening read for anyone interested not only in literature but historiography and post colonialism.

THANK YOU! What A Wonderful bookseller and self-proclaimed "living breathing person" - what a joy to receive such a carefully packaged quality book! thank you!

In his controversial, yet undeniably influential book Orientalism, Edward Said argued that the disciplines of Near Eastern studies, Sinology, etc. were marked with the hidden goal of aiding and normalizing European colonialism.Perhaps even more controversial is Said’s claim in Culture and Imperialism. Here he argues that the classic novels of the nineteenth century are ineluctably tied to colonialism and that you can understand them only if imperialism is considered.Some of his other arguments are less controversial while still interesting: imperialism completely neglected the indigenous cultures; after colonization Europe and the rest of the world have moved in a contrapuntal rhythm with European culture influencing the developing world while the developing world influences Europe just as much; he vociferously argues for ending any sense that Western culture has any distinct advantage over other cultures’ achievements.These arguments aren’t resolvable in an Amazon review. Said and other members of the Marxist/Critical school of philosophy seem to have largely succeeded in that analysis of colonial influence in nineteenth century novels is now thought indispensable. Personally, I would argue that there are elements of the Western patrimony not found in the rest of the world’s cultures but I’m probably in the minority.I will say that Said not only knew the Western canon but was well versed in the critical school of philosophy as well as having a vast knowledge of his native Arab culture. In short, when Said wrote something provocative, like Foucault he came to it from a perspective that a lifetime in the humanities afforded.If you are interested in the arguments around Western distinctiveness versus multiculturalism, traditional lit crit versus the postcolonial perspective or the major question of this book—whether the Western canon is ineluctably tied to imperialism—it’s a book well worth the effort. You’ll be rewarded for having to read sentences twice by getting a unique view into the perspective that now predominates in literary circles.

The book is highly informative and assertive. In the level of language, Said use of language and grammar fascinates me; what make it interesting is the sort of refrain that follow, in other words, once you know the meaning of a phrase in this book you find yourself familiar with the rest of the book. He always define the phrases he uses because they will re-appear many times in the book. In the ideology level, the book set around a clear thread that keeps you engaged the whole time; a lot of examples support assumption that he made.

I almost gave up on the book. But persisted in the hope of connecting the abstract of literature and philosophy to the reality of imperialism and colonialism.

Dry but important to understanding the history of how historians and theorists think about imperialism .

This book will hold its own at any time. Provocative and reflective, this is an important view of how perspectives are developed and how we need to think about our role.