Edward Said, the AAUG, and Arab American Archival Methods

Gualtieri’s article explores Edward Said’s participation in the Association of Arab American University Graduates (AAUG), an organization formed in the wake of the 1967 June War and for which Said served as vice president in the early 1970s. Describing itself as “an educational, cultural organization whose purpose is the dissemination of information,” the AAUG produced materials “expressive of the Arab point of view.” Many of the publications of the AAUG are considered to be foundational texts in Arab American studies. While much has been written about Said’s oeuvre in relation to postcolonial and literary studies, little is known about his connection to Arab American activism and scholarly production. Using the archives of the AAUG—including correspondence, position papers, memos, and the journal Arab Studies Quarterly—this article argues that the AAUG served as an incubator for Said’s theories in The Question of Palestine, Orientalism, and Covering Islam. It therefore seeks to draw out the connections among Saidian postcolonial theory, Arab American subjectivity, and archival practice.