Towards a Phenomenology of Racism

This chapter begins by considering the significance of Said’s 1967 essay “The Arab Portrayed” for the development of his critical scholarship. The work of Maurice Merleau-Ponty is shown to have been an early influence on Said’s sense of embodiment. Judith Butler’s writings on racism are discussed towards demonstrating the affective contours of phenomenology informing Said’s oeuvre. In the second half of the chapter Sara Ahmed’s Queer Phenomenology becomes relevant, as well as the work of Hamid Dabashi, towards indicating how Said’s writings lend themselves to an affective phenomenology of racism.