Edward Said was a Palestinian-American scholar born in 1935 in Jerusalem who played a key role in establishing post-colonialism as an academic discipline. He received his education in the United States and taught at Columbia University for most of his career. Said's influential book Orientalism established that the study of colonialism must consider the links between history, power, knowledge and society. He viewed textual analysis as the key method for understanding the power dynamics involved in constructing identities and meanings under colonial rule. Said passed away in 2003 in New York City after making important contributions to post-colonial theory.