Omnipresence of Imperialism
One of Said’s themes is the omnipresence of imperialism, especially during the 18th and 19th centuries, as its hegemonic force extended through the centers of power as well as the colonies themselves. Because middle- and upper-class Europeans reaped the fruits of imperialism, they were entangled in its web even when not overly complicit.
Racism and Racial Hierarchies
Closely related is the theme of racism, as development and maintenance of racial as well as class hierarchies characterized imperial rule. The idea of racial superiority and accompanying responsibility to “enlighten” nonwhite, nonwestern peoples was one to which Said contributed significantly with his earlier work, Orientalism. Here, he extends the attention to race with additional consideration of Africa and the Americas.
Political Nature of Culture
An underlying theme that his focus on empire highlights is the political nature of all culture and the concomitant impossibility of producing works that are apolitical. To imagine that writers exist free of political considerations and that works of art can be apprehended on aesthetic grounds alone seems to Said not just naïve but dangerous, as it obscures the political-economic realities of cultural production.
Liberation and Resistance
As Said considers the theme of liberation and resistance, he addresses the weight of imperial burdens on the formerly-colonized who struggle to break free. Because the imperial powers imposed their language and education along with political and economic control, the literature of resistance that undergirds postcolonial cultural production inevitably draws upon those impositions. Writing in indigenous languages is one important step away but the separation can never be complete because of the character of intellectual dialogue.
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