Edward Said: The Politics of an Oppositional Intellectual: An Evening with Nubar Hovsepian

Nubar Hovsepian, Associate Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Chapman University and longtime friend of Edward Said, presents his new intellectual biography exploring how Said's humanism shaped his politics on Palestine, the Middle East, and U.S. foreign policy. Drawing on unpublished letters and manuscripts, Hovsepian traces Said's evolution from literary critic to political thinker—from his early work on music and English literature through his landmark *Orientalism* to his later interventions on culture, nationalism, and the responsibility of intellectuals to challenge power.

Hovsepian will read excerpts from the book and be joined in conversation by Bruce Robbins, Old Dominion Foundation Professor in the Humanities at Columbia, whose own scholarship and activism on Palestine spans decades. Robbins co-authored the 2002 "Open Letter of American Jews to Our Government" published in the *New York Times* with over 4,000 signatures, and is director of two documentaries on Jewish identity and Zionism.

This is a free event organized by the Center for Palestine Studies and co-sponsored by The Society of Fellows and Heyman Center for the Humanities. Advanced registration is required for all attendees.