Book - Looking for Palestine: Growing Up Confused in an Arab-American Family : Shared by Fouad Kronfol
A bit too long but fascinating to hear the daughter of Edward Said, probably the most prominent Palestinian in the Western world. Her story is interesting in the sense that she represents the newer generation of Palestinians who grew up away from the MidEast and took on citizenships in many western countries.
PS. It is a shame that she uses the "um" so much in her talk..it distracts from the message and her story. For an actress her phonetics are not so great.
Fouad
Najla Said, daughter of the renowned Palestinian scholar Edward Said, discusses her memoir Looking for Palestine: Growing Up Confused in an Arab-American Family, sharing her struggle to reconcile her identities as an Episcopalian, American-raised daughter of a Palestinian father and Lebanese mother. This lecture provides a deeply personal exploration of identity from Najla Said, who speaks about the profound confusion of growing up as an Arab-American who didn't fit the stereotypes, and how she ultimately came to define her Palestinian heritage not by physical place, but by the universal ethical demand for justice and human rights, a philosophy inherited from her late father.
A frank and entertaining memoir, from the daughter of Edward Said, about growing up second-generation Arab American and struggling with that identity.
The daughter of a prominent Palestinian father and a sophisticated Lebanese mother, Najla Said grew up in New York City, confused and conflicted about her cultural background and identity. Said knew that her parents identified deeply with their homelands, but growing up in a Manhattan world that was defined largely by class and conformity, she felt unsure about who she was supposed to be, and was often in denial of the differences she sensed between her family and those around her. The fact that her father was the famous intellectual and outspoken Palestinian advocate Edward Said only made things more complicated. She may have been born a Palestinian Lebanese American, but in Said’s mind she grew up first as a WASP, having been baptized Episcopalian in Boston and attending the wealthy Upper East Side girls’ school Chapin, then as a teenage Jew, essentially denying her true roots, even to herself—until, ultimately, the psychological toll of all this self-hatred began to threaten her health.
As she grew older, making increased visits to Palestine and Beirut, Said’s worldview shifted. The attacks on the World Trade Center, and some of the ways in which Americans responded, finally made it impossible for Said to continue to pick and choose her identity, forcing her to see herself and her passions more clearly. Today, she has become an important voice for second-generation Arab Americans nationwide.
Presentation of her book on BookTV
Summary of VideoNajla Said, daughter of the renowned Palestinian scholar Edward Said, discusses her memoir Looking for Palestine: Growing Up Confused in an Arab-American Family, sharing her struggle to reconcile her identities as an Episcopalian, American-raised daughter of a Palestinian father and Lebanese mother. This lecture provides a deeply personal exploration of identity from Najla Said, who speaks about the profound confusion of growing up as an Arab-American who didn't fit the stereotypes, and how she ultimately came to define her Palestinian heritage not by physical place, but by the universal ethical demand for justice and human rights, a philosophy inherited from her late father.
[01:18]. She recounts how a life-changing 1992 trip to Palestine, including a visit to Gaza, forced her to confront her heritage, feeling simultaneously disconnected from the place yet realizing she had internalized her father's vision of Palestine as a simple fight for equality and human rights
[08:28]. Said concludes by encouraging the next generation, regardless of their background, to continue this struggle for justice, emphasizing that the most powerful thing they can do is to present themselves simply as human beings
Summary of Book from AmazonA frank and entertaining memoir, from the daughter of Edward Said, about growing up second-generation Arab American and struggling with that identity.
The daughter of a prominent Palestinian father and a sophisticated Lebanese mother, Najla Said grew up in New York City, confused and conflicted about her cultural background and identity. Said knew that her parents identified deeply with their homelands, but growing up in a Manhattan world that was defined largely by class and conformity, she felt unsure about who she was supposed to be, and was often in denial of the differences she sensed between her family and those around her. The fact that her father was the famous intellectual and outspoken Palestinian advocate Edward Said only made things more complicated. She may have been born a Palestinian Lebanese American, but in Said’s mind she grew up first as a WASP, having been baptized Episcopalian in Boston and attending the wealthy Upper East Side girls’ school Chapin, then as a teenage Jew, essentially denying her true roots, even to herself—until, ultimately, the psychological toll of all this self-hatred began to threaten her health.
As she grew older, making increased visits to Palestine and Beirut, Said’s worldview shifted. The attacks on the World Trade Center, and some of the ways in which Americans responded, finally made it impossible for Said to continue to pick and choose her identity, forcing her to see herself and her passions more clearly. Today, she has become an important voice for second-generation Arab Americans nationwide.
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