Deconstructing essentialisms: Edward Said's analysis of imperialism, post-colonial studies and sociologies of the South

Abstract

The article intends to deal with Edward Said's methodological proposals, emphasizing the way in which the author discusses “imperialism” in a cultural context. It is intended to address how this author contributes to the proposition of alternatives to hegemonic sociology, by showing that the discursive formations of the social sciences, when bringing into their body of knowledge the so-called colonial categories, fail to account for the variety of realities that aim to analyze. As a way to counter the hegemonic discourses, he praises the global narratives that give visibility to the plurality of experiences, experiences and points of view of the colonized, but mainly to the interdependencies between colonizers and colonized.