Edward Said and exile: a gaze at counterpoint

Abstract

This article sets out to analyse the concept of exile as portrayed in the work of Edward Said. Our author’s central idea of this term is that even if the term exile is inconsistent in the metaphorical sense he defends, it is enriching intellectually, given that from this perspective, it provides a different vision through which an “exiled” intellectual can analyse the historical experience. In other words, Said, believes that even authors who are not exiles in real terms and fully belong to their respective societies can adopt such a vision. In doing so, a distance is created, enabling critics to embrace a global vision that transcends ideological boundaries and facilitates the study of others and their culture within a humanistic context. The methodology followed in this work sheds a critical light on the interesting, albeit contradictory, concept of exile proposed by Said as a tool for cultural studies. In short, to a point, this essay aims to demonstrate how Edward Said’s approach to the term of exile is relevant. Indeed, his own work is largely influenced by authors who have been exiles quintessentially speaking, and who somehow shaped the critique he put forward during his life.