Saree Makdisi (born 1964) is an American literary critic and professor; specializing in eighteenth and nineteenth century British literature. He is of Palestinian and Lebanese descent. He also writes on contemporary

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

politics and culture. Makdisi currently holds the title of Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...

(UCLA).

Background

Makdisi was born in the United States (Washington).Makdisi, Saree: ''Palestine Inside Out'', p. xxv. Norton, 2010. His father, Samir Makdisi, is a Lebanese-Palestinian professor of Economics at the American University of Beirut and his mother, Jean Said Makdisi, is a Palestinian independent scholar (formerly of Beirut University College). He is also the grandson of Anis K. Makdisi, a professor of

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

at American University of Beirut and the nephew of the late literary scholar,

Edward Said Edward Wadie Said (; , ; 1 November 1935 – 24 September 2003) was a Palestinian-American professor of literature at Columbia University, a public intellectual, and a founder of the academic field of postcolonial studies.Robert Young, ''Whit ...

. In 2009, Makdisi gave the Edward Said Memorial lecture at

Adelaide University The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

. He spent his early childhood in the United States, moving to Lebanon at the age of eight. While he grew up in a Christian family, they lived in a "largely Muslim neighborhood in Beirut." Makdisi returned to the United States for his final year in high school and also attended college there. He received his B.A. from

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the col ...

in 1987, Ph.D. from Duke University in 1993, and taught for a decade as an Assistant Professor, then as an Associate Professor, of English and Comparative Literature at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

before joining UCLA in 2003.

Selected publications

Books

* ''Romantic Imperialism: Universal Empire and the Culture of Modernity'' (New York and Cambridge, Eng.:

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pre ...

, 1998) * ''William Blake and the Impossible History of the 1790s'' (Chicago:

University of Chicago Press The University of Chicago Press is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including ''The Chicago Manual of Style'', ...

, 2003) * ''Palestine Inside Out: An Everyday Occupation'' (WW Norton, 2008; revised and updated, with a new foreword by

Alice Walker Alice Malsenior Tallulah-Kate Walker (born February 9, 1944) is an American novelist, short story writer, poet, and social activist. In 1982, she became the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, which she was awa ...

, 2010) *''Making England Western: Occidentalism, Race & Imperial Culture'' (London and Chicago,

, 2014)

Articles and interviews

"Domesticating Exoticism: Transformations of Britain's Orient, 1785-1835" from ''Romantic Imperialism'' (Cambridge University Press, 1998).January 2009 radio interview
about ''Palestine Inside Out: An Everyday Occupation'' on KPFA.

Awards

*2009

Arab American Book Award The Arab American Book Award, established in 2006, is an annual literary award to celebrate and support the research of, and the written work of, Arab Americans and their culture. The Arab American Book Award encourages the publication and excelle ...

, Honorable Mention:''Palestine Inside Out: An Everyday Occupation''

Notes

External links

*
Official websiteOfficial blogUCLA faculty profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Makdisi, Saree American people of Palestinian descent American writers of Lebanese descent Duke University alumni Literary critics of English Living people Wesleyan University alumni Writers on the Middle East University of California, Los Angeles faculty University of Chicago faculty 1964 births Said family