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graphitepowder's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Said makes incredible connections between cultural production, with reference to novels and the imperial and colonial enterprise that the cultures participated in. It’s accepted as a landmark in postcolonial studies and cultural studies in general but I believe every person must read it for better understanding of the insidious ways in which power structures are constructed and maintained.
millie_rose_reads's review against another edition
4.0
Culture and Imperialism has a constant balancing act between being an academic and didactic text. This naturally affects the flow of the prose at times, stymying it as further elucidation is needed for comprehensive analysis. Mostly, Edward W. Said handles the challenge deftly, but is occasionally burdened by his own fastidiousness.
Regardless, Culture and Imperialism is a book that is just as relevant in 2020 as it was in 1993, as it deals with ideological levers that can take decades to fully pull or push. Much of the reactionary figures (hostile to any divergence from traditional mores and narratives) presented here keep step with the cultural curmudgeons of today:
However, this book isn't an indictment on one specific culture or country; the book has loftier aims than that. Instead its an examination of the interdependence of each of them, dispelling the myth of the nation state born in isolation. I expected and appreciated all of the critiques of imperialism and its excesses, but it was Said's critique of rampant nationalism (while also acknowledging it being a successful antidote to colonialism) that really surprised me. It can be difficult to see past the narratives a people create to uplift themselves from tyranny—and begin to cogently extrapolate its own excesses, and I really learned a lot from it.
This book is at turns fascinating and insightful, poised to educate and not lecture, and I'd recommend it to even those just interested in how the literature of uncontroversial writers like Austen and Dickens perpetuate imperial orthodoxy.
Regardless, Culture and Imperialism is a book that is just as relevant in 2020 as it was in 1993, as it deals with ideological levers that can take decades to fully pull or push. Much of the reactionary figures (hostile to any divergence from traditional mores and narratives) presented here keep step with the cultural curmudgeons of today:
One perhaps trivial example of this atavism occurred in a column written for The Wall Street Journal on May 2, 1989, by Bernard Lewis, one of the senior Orientalists working in the United States. Lewis was entering the debate about changing the "Western canon." To the students and professors at Stanford University who had voted to modify the curriculum to include texts by more non-Europeans, women, and so on, Lewis—speaking as an authority on Islam—took the extreme position that "if Western culture does indeed go a number of things would go with it and others would come in their place." No one had said anything so ludicrous as "Western culture must go," but Lewis's argument, focussed on much grander matters than strict accuracy, lumbered forward with the remarkable proposition that since modifications in the reading list would be equivalent to the demise of Western culture, such subjects (he named them specifically) as the restoration of slavery, polygamy, and child marriage would ensue. To this amazing thesis Lewis added that "curiosity about other cultures," which he believes is unique to the West, would also come to an end.
However, this book isn't an indictment on one specific culture or country; the book has loftier aims than that. Instead its an examination of the interdependence of each of them, dispelling the myth of the nation state born in isolation. I expected and appreciated all of the critiques of imperialism and its excesses, but it was Said's critique of rampant nationalism (while also acknowledging it being a successful antidote to colonialism) that really surprised me. It can be difficult to see past the narratives a people create to uplift themselves from tyranny—and begin to cogently extrapolate its own excesses, and I really learned a lot from it.
This book is at turns fascinating and insightful, poised to educate and not lecture, and I'd recommend it to even those just interested in how the literature of uncontroversial writers like Austen and Dickens perpetuate imperial orthodoxy.
thedandybrambler's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
nathan_niehaus's review against another edition
Didn’t particularly enjoy it. I dislike Said’s writing style in which he so frequently employs two or three semantically adjacent words instead of settling on one. Admittedly, the complexity of the writing (especially in the more abstract sections) outstripped my understanding and probably diminished my appreciation of the book.
Another reason for my dissatisfaction with the book is that I wanted it to be something it isn’t. I wanted an extended argument, a central key providing the organizing principle of the book, through which to interpret the work as a whole. Actually, this is a collection of essays written in an exploratory style (although the book’s thematic organization gives one the impression that it will be more argumentative than it really is).
On a more positive note, I found Said’s theorization, proposal, and exemplification of a contrapuntal method of analysis interesting.
Another reason for my dissatisfaction with the book is that I wanted it to be something it isn’t. I wanted an extended argument, a central key providing the organizing principle of the book, through which to interpret the work as a whole. Actually, this is a collection of essays written in an exploratory style (although the book’s thematic organization gives one the impression that it will be more argumentative than it really is).
On a more positive note, I found Said’s theorization, proposal, and exemplification of a contrapuntal method of analysis interesting.
regitzexenia's review against another edition
3.0
Yet another BA related book. This book picks up some of the threads from Said's earlier book, Orientalism nd with its focus on culture as it relaes to imperialism - and vice versa - it is a book that I'm already pretty sure I'll be refering to more than a couple of times.
thecolourblue's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
3.75
Said's writing is dense and academic (this book took me literal months to read), but it's highly informative and contains valuable insights about the impact and influence of imperialism on a number of famous works of 'great Western literature' (i.e. Kipling, Camus, etc). Said writes passionately about this topic, as well as about the work of several other anti-imperialist theorists, most significantly Fanon.
I will definitely return to this book as a reference text while reading some of the other works discussed within it.
I will definitely return to this book as a reference text while reading some of the other works discussed within it.
fevi's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.75
Uma excelente obra para fazer refletir sobre o modo consumimos e refletimos a literatura. Se conseguimos ou não captar o que autores dizem ou deixam de dizer. É um grande exercício para olhar o mundo através da cultura imperialista e das suas consequências. Edward W. Said é bastante crítico com inúmeras obras, mas sem radicalismo. Não há aqui cancelamentos ou anacronismos. As reflexões e apontamentos sobre como o imperialismo reflete também nos meios culturais e influenciam pessoas são contundentes e perspicazes. O intuito é discutir o que as palavras construíram independente da índole do autor. Aprendi bastante com as críticas sobre nacionalismo e política identitária que são consequências apontadas por Said como extremismos da luta contra a dominação imperial. É um livro enriquecedor e cheio de aprendizado.
É uma boa pedida para quem gosta de clássicos e vê o poder da literatura como meio de refletir sobre a sociedade. As reflexões propostas por Said farão com que leitores examinem a literatura sobre uma nova perspectiva para além do entretenimento. Recomendadíssimo.
É uma boa pedida para quem gosta de clássicos e vê o poder da literatura como meio de refletir sobre a sociedade. As reflexões propostas por Said farão com que leitores examinem a literatura sobre uma nova perspectiva para além do entretenimento. Recomendadíssimo.