Edward Said: The Question of Palestine

Edward Said’s The Question of Palestine (1979) is a foundational text in modern Palestinian intellectual history. Written for an English-speaking audience, it argues that the Palestinian experience cannot be understood through stereotypes of terror or victimhood; it must be understood as a colonial struggle over land, identity, and representation.

Said, who was also the author of Orientalism (1978), insisted that Palestinians were not merely a humanitarian problem to be managed, but a people with a political history and a right to self-determination. His work shaped generations of scholars, activists, and diplomats.

Context

• The Question of Palestine — Vintage Books
• Edward Said bibliography — Columbia University