Humanism and Democratic Criticism (Columbia Themes in Philosophy Series) FROM THE PUBLISHER
In the radically changed and highly charged political atmosphere that has overtaken the United States -- and to varying degrees the rest of the world -- since September 11, 2001, the notion that disparate cultures can harmoniously and productively coexist has come to seem like little more than a quaint fiction. In this time of heightened animosity and aggression, have humanistic values and democratic principles become irrelevant? Are they merely utopian fantasies? Or are they now more urgent and necessary than ever before? Ever since the ascendancy of critical theory and multi-cultural studies in the 1960s and 1970s, traditional humanistic education has been under assault. Often condemned as the intolerant voice of the masculine establishment and regularly associated with Eurocentrism and even imperialism, the once-sacred literary canon is now more likely to be ridiculed than revered. While this seismic shift -- brought on by advances in technological communication, intellectual specialization, and cultural sensitivity -- has eroded the former primacy of the humanities, Edward W. Said argues that a more democratic form of humanism -- one that aims to incorporate, emancipate, and enlighten -- is still possible. A lifelong humanist, Said believed that self-knowledge is the highest form of human achievement and the true goal of humanistic education. But he also believed that self-knowledge is unattainable without an equal degree of self-criticism and the awareness that comes from studying and experiencing other peoples, traditions, and ideas.
Proposing a return to philology and a more expansive literary canon as strategies for revitalizing the humanities, Said contends that words are not merely passive figures but vital agents in historical and political change. Intellectuals must reclaim an active role in public life, but at the same time, insularity and parochialism, as well as the academic trend toward needless jargon and obscurantism, must be combated. The "humanities crisis," according to Said, is based on the misperception that there is an inexorable conflict between established traditions and our increasingly complex and diversified world. Yet this position fails to recognize that the canonized thinkers of today were the revolutionaries of yesterday and that the nature of human progress is to question, upset, and reform. By considering the emerging social responsibilities of writers and intellectuals in an ever more interdependent world and exploring the enduring influence of Eric Auerbach's critical masterpiece, Mimesis, Said not only makes a persuasive case for humanistic education but provides his own captivating and deeply personal perspective on our shared intellectual heritage.
SYNOPSIS
Reconfirming his preeminent role as a public intellectual, the late Edward Said attempted to save the legacy of humanism from multiple challenges in this series of lectures delivered shortly before his death. Of course, under Said's treatment, humanism doesn't remain static, with Said insisting on the need of humanism to recognize the "Other" as a source for critical reevaluation of the "Self." Said considers the relationship of humanism to other fields of intellectual endeavor, discusses the duties of the humanist in the post-September 11th world, and explores the contributions of philology in promoting a trained openness to texts that can be "the royal road to humanistic understanding." Also included is an appended coda, discussing "The Public Role of Writers and Intellectuals." Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
FROM THE CRITICS
Laura Ciolkowski - The New York Times
In Humanism and Democratic Criticism, Edward Said writes an impassioned apologia for a cosmopolitan, playful and rigorously inquisitive brand of humanist practice. Along the way, he wrestles with the shadows of T. S. Eliot and Allan Bloom, among others, whose elitist humanism is a slap in the face to the secular democratic criticism Said champions. If Said, who died last year, also fights off the philosophical incursions of Claude Lﾽvi-Strauss and Michel Foucault -- thinkers who provided the vital building blocks for his groundbreaking book, Orientalism (1978) -- it is because he rejects their apparent scorn for the humanist faith in the power of men and women to effect change.
Library Journal
The late Said (English & comparative literature, Columbia Univ.), who has authored many books, including Culture and Imperialism and Orientalism, here provides a powerful defense of humanistic disciplines and democratic ideals in a global civilization. Said finds the critical study of literature important in developing the human capacity for self-criticism, and he affirms from his own experience in political and social activism the global appeal of ideals of fairness and justice. Sensitive to the fact that humanism is grounded in European masculinity, he calls for an expanded humanism that is multicultural, seeking to be liberating, inclusive, and enlightening-that is, a truly democratic humanism, which is neither ethnocentric nor self-congratulatory and which includes not only literary and linguistic ideals but also political ones. In many ways different from the works cited above, this final work seeks to rescue the humanistic pursuit from the criticisms Said had previously voiced. Highly recommended for academic and large public libraries.-Carolyn M. Craft, Longwood Univ., Farmville, VA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
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