BEGINNINGS

Abstract

Edward W. Said has advocated the crossing of boundaries while at the same time abjuring the existence of those very boundaries. In practice, this has been played out in his opposition to nationalism existing alongside his support for the Palestinian people / a relationship that many have regarded as paradoxical if not contradictory. Said’s regard for nationalist movements, as having progressive and liberatory potential, stands alongside his recognition of the bleaker, more regressive, aspects of nationalism. Narratives of nationalism sit uneasily with those of emancipation which, as Said argues, are ‘narratives of integration not separation’ (1993: xxx). In the service of his commitment to truth and justice, Said recognized the delineation of boundaries and barriers as