A scholarly book’s meaning can exceed and supersede its author’s control

Evidence

For in all sorts of ways Orientalism now seems to me a collective book that I think supersedes me as its author more than I could have expected when I wrote it. — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 834

Categorization

• QUESTION: What does the ‘collective book’ idea imply for how Islamophobia arguments inherit Orientalism’s legacy?
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 834
• XREF: connects to: Book authorship is ultimately a solitary act of individual responsibility. — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 1672; A writer’s book is best read through composition context and intended readership — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory: Classes, Nations, Literatures, 511; A novel’s symbolic claims can exceed the terms that render its characters coherent — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory: Nations, Classes, Literatures, 250 (+2 more)
• yield-rescued: below the book’s yield-target cutoff, included anyway for connecting to: Book authorship is ultimately a solitary act of individual responsibility. — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 1672; A writer’s book is best read through composition context and intended readership — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory: Classes, Nations, Literatures, 511; A novel’s symbolic claims can exceed the terms that render its characters coherent — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory: Nations, Classes, Literatures, 250 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Complex literary texts are overdetermined and resist reduction to one factor #complicates (0.72) — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory, 472