Edward Said Lecture
an article by Shireen Tawil

On Tuesday, February 19th, 2002, the renowned scholar Edward Said came to Wesleyan University to deliver a lecture entitled "The Palestinian Situation Today". The whole campus was abuzz with excitement about his coming for days. I was involved with organizing the event, and was becoming more excited as the big day rapidly approached.

A few days before the lecture, the campus was plastered with posters defaming Said as a "Proponent of Violence". I was enraged, and deeply hurt that people would label him as such, indirectly accusing Students for a Free Palestine (the group organizing the event) of bringing somebody who in anyway advocates and participates in violence, to speak at our university. Then rumors began circulating that a protest was going to be held outside the lecture hall, we did not know the magnitude of it.

When Tuesday finally arrived, tensions were running extremely high on campus. SFP had asked for increased security at the event, because we did not know what to expect. The hall was packed; people who could not get in were peering in through the window. People wanted to listen. Said delivered an amazing lecture, stressing the importance of listening to different narratives, and of including and seeking out those that are silenced. He spoke eloquently of the rights of all people, and the illegality of the Israel's military occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. When he was finished, he received thundering applause, and a standing ovation.

Later that night, I was speaking with a Jewish friend of mine, and she told me how much she appreciated the lecture. She said she'd learned many things she'd never known before about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. She told me how important she realized it was to listen to people with an open mind. I was really touched to hear that the lecture had had that sort of impact on her.

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Presenting the Palestinian side of the Middle East
Is it important for a culture of peace?

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We mourn the loss of Edward Said, who passed away on the morning of Thursday, September 25, 2003.

See biography and list of articles by Edward Said on the website of the Nation Magazine.

This report was posted on April 23, 2002. The moderator is Robin.

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