| Summary: | Based on the idea that culture and identities involve a politically built process, the importance of the concepts of representation and imperialism in the work of Edward Said is discussed. The article analyses two of the author’s general proposals. Firstly, the thesis of the centrality of cultural dimension in political relations, which leads to the review of postulates that consider culture as a mere reflection of a phenomena seen as essential or as a sphere isolated from the power practices. Secondly, the study examines how the author’s conception of imperialism is used as a means of identification that keep structures of authority and hegemony, which, in turn, may be defied by processes of resistance. Finally, the validity of the open character of Said’s political theory is debated, which encompasses both the power of representations and an action of political questioning.
|
|---|