Well we have our first assignment: an essay of 2000 words (approximately eight double-spaced pages; please keep your paper as close to 2000 words as possible) that engages issues from DuBois, Said, and possibly Pratt.
Discuss the following quotation from Said’s introduction:
One task of the intellectual is the effort to break down the stereotypes and reductive categories that are so limiting to human thought and communication… .Insiders promote special interests, but intellectuals should be the ones to question patriotic nationalism, corporate thinking, and a sense of class, racial or gender privilege. (xi-xiii)
Explore similarities and differences between the authors, and analyze each author in terms of his/her historical and cultural context.
Here are a variety of ideas to get your thinking started (these are just examples; your work should reflect your own thinking on these matters):
Explore some of the following questions:
- Is it possible to be an intellectual without being oppositional (i.e., some kind of an agitator or activist)?
- In what ways do you agree or disagree with Said’s statement? Would DuBois have agreed?
- How do Du Bois’s and Said’s descriptions of their own backgrounds contribute to your understanding of their points of view?
- Said often mentions the criticism he had received for the ideas in this book, which were originally delivered as the prestigious series of “Reith” lectures sponsored by the BBC. Are these criticisms valid? Why/why not? What points does Said suggest to counter them?
- To what extent might Du Bois’s and Said’s ideals represent exclusively “Western” interpretations or ideologies concerning the role of intellectuals? Explain and expand on this idea with examples.
You must base your discussion on your reading and your own understanding of the issues being raised by both DuBois and Said (and feel free to use Pratt). Be sure to develop your points critically and use direct quotations or examples from the readings to support your ideas. You must document and cite your sources using the MLA documentation style as outlined in A Writer’s Reference.
