EGYT 2100 Social Life in Ancient Egypt

EGYT 2100 Social Life in Ancient Egypt

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ARCH 2740 Social Life in Ancient Egypt
Professor Laurel Bestock

Wednesdays 3-5:20pm

Rhode Island Hall 008

The Egyptians had a complex ideology pertaining to the self, perceiving themselves as multi-faceted individuals whose embodiment transcended death. They were concerned with questions which have returned in later European philosophy - questions about being and non-being, about the meaning of death, the constitution of the body, about the nature of the cosmos and humanity, and about the basis of human society. Studying such ideas and their relavence both to individuals and to broader groups within society requires a careful examination of often difficult and fragmentary evidence.

This course will draw upon theoretical developments in anthropology and sociology that seek to explore fluid hierarchies of difference - age, sex, class, ethnicity - providing an opportunity to link theory and data in an innovative manner. Taking the lifecycle as its structure, the course covers Egyptian life from conception to death and burial, drawing a range of data sources such as material culture, iconography, textual data and human remains. Through an examination of both theory and diverse sets of data we will attempt to shed light on the complexity of identity in the ancient Egyptian past.

There are three critical goals for the participants in this class. The first is to critically approach the very notion of categorization with regards to identity in the past. The second is to address the means of bridging theory and data, which is often an extremely difficult part of producing convincing scholarship. Finally the course will serve as preparation for students who will be writing dissertations in any subfield of archaeology or Egyptology. Student presentations will be structured as though they were trying to propose a dissertation from the week’s topic. We will constantly frame our approachin discussion in terms of asking good questions and developing methodologies and data sets that are appropriate to those questions. The research paper will be structured like a dissertation prospectus; it is less important that conclusions be final than that an appropriate approach to the topic be clarified.

Assessment:

1.  Presentations (30%)

2.  Participation in discussions (20%)

3.  Response papers (15%)

4.  Research paper to be handed in at the end of the term on a topic agreed to after consultation with the professor (35%).]

Presentations:

Every student will give two presentations during the course of the semester. These will be case studies related to the weekly topics and will rely upon both archaeological reports and secondary interpretations; they should have solid theses and utilize archaeological material to back them up. Presentations will be 20-30 minutes each. All presentation topics must be cleared with the professor two weeks in advance in a discussion with me during office hours; presentations will begin the third week of class.

Research Paper:

One of the in-class presentations (your choice of which) will be the basis for a more in-depth 15 page research paper due on December 1st. I am sorry for the early deadline, but as I go into the field immediately after classes end there is no way I can give you more time and get my grades in. I have no internet in Uronarti.

Weekly Response Papers:

Each student will write a response paper each week that draws together themes from the readings, highlighting critical questions for discussion. Response papers are due posted to the wiki 24 hours before class each week, starting in week 2. While we will all do all the assigned readings each week, each student will be primarily responsible for one article or section of a book. You will focus on that piece in your own response paper (though tying its ideas to the other readings) and will be responsible for generating questions about that publication for discussion. One way to consider tackling your assigned piece is to reverse-engineer the document on the elements of a good research project. Try to figure out what the quesiton was the author was asking, what the methodology, the evidence, the answer. Do you think the question was good? Why or why not? Are the methodology and evidence well chosen for the question? Are the conclusions convincing? How could one move forward on the same topic?

All of the readings listed here are preliminary. They focus more on the data than the theory. We will collectively decide which of these things we want to read and what additionally we want to add. Students are required to do some exploration for additional reading: I expect every student to come to class each week with at least one additional source that they have scouted out as a potentially relevant and interesting reading for the following week. The last 20 minutes or so of each class will be spent determining together the readings for the next week, the themes we most want to cover, and who will concentrate on what for their response papers. Please come to class with your laptops or tablets so that you can do internet searches while we are together. If you do not have such a device, one can be checked out of either the Institute or the Egyptology Department.

We’ll also choose what types of evidence we want to focus on and then build a more detailed bibliography together. So, for instance, Ann Roth’s “Little women: gender and hierarchic proportion in Old Kingdom mastaba chapels” isn’t on the reading list. But it might be if we decide that we want to use art as one of our main sources either for gender or inequality.

Texts:

Diaz-Andreu, M. et al. 2005. The Archaeology of Identity: Approaches to Gender, Age, Status, Ethnicity and Religion.

Kemp, B. J. 2006. Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization, second edition.

Meskell, L. M. 1999. Archaeologies of Social Life: Age, Sex, Class etc. in Ancient Egypt.

Janssen. J. and R. M. Janssen. 1990. Growing up in Ancient Egypt.

Janssen, R. and J. J. Janssen. 1996. Getting Old in Ancient Egypt.

(these are available in one volume now)

Shafer, B. (ed) 1991. Religion in Ancient Egypt

Hornung, E. 1982. Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt: The One and the Many

Robins, G. 1993. Women in Ancient Egypt

Manniche, L. 1987. Sexual Life in Ancient Egypt.

Insoll, T. (ed) 2007. The Archaeology of Identities: a reader

Gedge, P. 1977. Child of the Morning

Additional readings as determined together.

Schedule:

Sept. 4: What is identity? How do we categorize people?
Discuss course format
Sept. 11: Categorization and Identity in the Ancient World
Emberling, G. “Ethnicity in complex societies: archaeological perspectives” in Journal of Archaeological Research 1997.
Introduction from Diaz-Andreu, et al. Archaeology of Identity
Wendrich, “Identity and Personhood”, Egyptian Archaeology, Wiley-Blackwell
Insoll, T. (ed) The Archaeology of Identities first three chapters
(not assigned, but worth taking a look at for some interesting ideas about the relationship between individual cognition/agency and social groups: Douglas, M. How Institutions Think)
no response paper this week, but come to class prepared to discuss our identities again as well as the readings
Sept. 18. Existence and Individuals in Egyptian Society
Meskell, L. M. 2000: “Cycles of life: narrative homology and archaeological realities.” World Archaeology: Lifecycles 31(3): 423 - 441.
Hornung, E. (1982). Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt: The One and the Many. Cornell, Ithaca. 170-185
Baines, J. (1991). “Society, Morality and Religious Practice”, B. Shafer, Religion in Ancient Egypt. Cornell, Ithaca: 123-200.
Kemp, B. J. 2006. Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization, Routledge, London and New York. Ch. 1 and 3.
The Eloquent Peasant
The Satire of the Trades
Book of the Dead: Negative Confession
PRESENTATIONS:
Jen Thum
Emily Booker
Sept. 25 Conception and Birth
Janssen. J. and R. M. Janssen. 1990: Growing up in Ancient Egypt. London, Rubicon Press.
Ch. 1-3
Roth, A. M. (2000). Father earth, mother sky: ancient Egyptian beliefs about conception and fertility. Reading the Body: Representations and Remains in the Archaeological Record. A. Rautman. Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press: 187 – 201.
Meskell, L. M. 1994: Dying Young: the experience of death at Deir el Medina, Archaeological Review from Cambridge 13(2): 35-45.
Robins, G. 1994-5: Women and children in peril: pregnancy, birth and infant mortality in ancient Egypt, KMT 5(4): 24-35.
Roth, A. M. (1993). “Fingers, stars, and the 'Opening of the Mouth': the nature and function of the ntrwj-blades.” Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 79: 57-79.
Pinch, G. 1994: Magic in Ancient Egypt. London, British Museum Press, esp. Ch. 9.
PRESENTATIONS:
Jess Tomkins
Catie Steidl
Oct. 2 Childhood and Adolescence
Feucht, E. 1995: Das Kind im alten Ägypten. Frankfurt/New York, Campus Verlag.
Janssen, J. J. and R. M. Janssen. 1990: Growing up in Ancient Egypt. London, Rubicon Press. Ch. 4-6, 8-11.
Meskell, L. M. 1999: Archaeologies of Social Life: Age, Sex, Class etc. in Ancient Egypt. Oxford, Blackwell.
Wilfong, T. 1999: Menstrual synchrony and the "Place of Women" in ancient Egypt. (Oriental Institute Museum Hieratic Ostracon 13512). In God of Praise: Studies in Honour of Professor Edward F. Wente, E. Teeter and J. A. Larson (Ed.). Chicago, University of Chicago Press.
Lucy, S. “The archaeology of age” in The Archaeology of Identity
Joyce, R. “Girling the girl and boying the boy: the production of adulthood in ancient Mesoamerica” in The Archaeology of Identities
PRESENTATION:
Simon Hochberg
Oct. 9 AND 16: Ethnicity
Return to Emberling article
Lucy, S. “Ethnic and cultural identities” in The Archaeology of Identity
Booth, C. 2005. The role of foreigners in ancient Egypt: a study of non-stereotypical artistic representations
Smith, S. T. 2003. Wretched Kush: ethnic identities and boundaries in Egypt’s Nubian empire
Kansa, E. and Levy, T. 2002. “Ceramics, Identity, and the Role of the State: the view from Nahal Tillah” Egypt and the Levant: interrelations from the 4th through the early 3rd millennium BCE. 190-212.
Stevenson, A. 2008. “Ethnicity and Migration? The Cemetery of el-Gerzeh” in Egypt at its Origins 2.
PRESENTATIONS:
Oct. 9:
Emily Drennan
Maggie Geoga
Oct. 15:
Kathryn McBride
Oct. 23 Sex and Gender
Wylie, A. “The constitution of archaeological evidence: gender politics and science” in Archaeology of Identities.
Graves-Brown, C. (ed) 2008. Sex and Gender in Ancient Egypt: don your wig for a joyful hour.
Sweeney, D. 2011. “Sex and Gender” in the UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology
Riggs, C. 2010. “The Body” in the UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology
Bryan, B. M. 1996: In woman good and bad fortune are on earth: status and roles of women in Egyptian culture. In Mistress of the House, Mistress of Heaven: Women in Ancient Egypt, A. K. Capel and G. E. Markoe (Ed.). New York, Hudson Hills Press, pp. 25-46.
Roehrig, C. 1996: Women’s work: Some ocupations of nonroyal women as depicted in ancient Egyptian art. In Mistress of the House.
Lesko, B. S. 1994-5: Researching the role of women in ancient Egypt, KMT 5(4): 14-23.
Robins, G. 1993: Women in Ancient Egypt. London, British Museum.
Diaz-Andreu, M. “Gender Identity” in The Archaeology of Identity
Swart, L. 2008. “Observations on the Status of Women in the 21st and 22nd Dynasty, Thebes, Egypt” JSSEA 35, 207-16.
Depauw, M. 2003. “Notes on Transgressing Gender Boundaries in Ancient Egypt”, ZÄS 130, 49-59.
PRESENTATION:
Catie Steidl
Oct. 30 Inequalities
Cruz-Uribe, E. 1982. “Slavery in Egypt during the Saite and Persian Periods” in Revue Internationale des Droits de l’Antiquité, Brussels.
Bakir, A. el-M. 1952. Slavery in Pharaonic Egypt. Cairo.
Loprieno, A. 2012. “Slavery and Servitude” in the UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology.
Lorton, D. 1977. “Treatment of Criminals in Ancient Egypt through the New Kingdom” Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient XX.1.
O’Connor, D and D. Silverman. 1995: Ancient Egyptian Kingship. Leiden, New York and Cologne, E. J. Brill. – don’t read this all, but be aware of it.
Brumfiel, E. M. 1992: “Distinguished Week in archaeology: breaking and entering the ecosystem — gender, class, and faction steal the show”, American Anthropologist 94: 551 - 567.
Meskell, L. M. 1999: Archaeologies of Social Life: Age, Sex, Class etc. in Ancient Egypt. Oxford, Blackwell.
Wilfong, T. G., Ed. 1997: Women and Gender in Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to Late Antiquity, Ann Arbor, MI, Kelsey Museum of Archaeology.
PRESENTATIONS:
Jess Tomkins
Emily Booker
Nov. 6 Partnership
Janssen, J. J. 1988: Marriage problems and public reactions (P. BM 10416). In Pyramid Studies and Other Essays Presented to I. E. S. Edwards, J. Baines, T. G. H. James, A. Leahy and A. F. Shore (Ed.). London, Egypt Exploration Society, pp. 134-137.
Johnson, J. “Sex and Marriage in Ancient Egypt” in Hommages a Fayza Haikal, Grimal, N. (ed). 149-59.
Robins, G. 1993: Women in Ancient Egypt. London, British Museum.
Toivari, J. 1997: Man versus woman: interpersonal disputes in the workmen's community of Deir el Medina, Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 39(4): 1 - 21.
Toivari, J. 1998: Marriage at Deir el Medina. In Proceedings of the Seventh International Congress of Egyptologists, C. J. Eyre (Ed.). Leuven, Uitgeverij Peeters, pp. 1157 - 1163.
Campagno, M. 2009 “Kinship and Family Relations” in the UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology
Allen, J. The Heqanakht Papyri
PRESENTATIONS:
Kathryn McBride
Maggie Geoga
Nov. 13 Organizing principles: Religion and Law in Society
Edwards, D. “The Archaeology of Religion” in The Archaeology of Identity
Baines, J. 1991: Society, morality, and religious practice. In Religion in Ancient Egypt, B. E. Shafer (Ed.). London, Routledge, pp. 123 - 200.
Eloquent Peasant
Johnson, J. 1996: The legal status of women in Ancient Egypt. In Mistress of the House.
Lorton, D. Legal and Social Institutions of Pharaonic Egypt, in Sasson (ed.) Civilizations of the Ancient Near East vol. 1.
Jasnow, R. 2003. several chapters from Westbrook, R. (ed). A History of Ancient Near Eastern Law
Sadek: Popular Religion in Egypt during the New Kingdom
Schaefer: Temples Priests and Rituals in Temples of Ancient Egypt
Sweeney, D. 2008 “Gender and Oracular Practice in Deir el-Medina”, ZÄS 135, 154-164
PRESENTATION:
Emily Drennan
Nov. 20 Attitudes to Death and Facing the Afterworld