Egyptology and cognate disciplines

Author(s):  
David Wengrow

Egyptology has been described as a discipline ‘tortured by its own source material’. As a field of study, Egyptology depends on archaeological fieldwork as a primary source of data. Yet its theoretical concerns often derive from fields such as literary studies and art history, which assume certain categories of knowledge that are often lacking, or only obliquely attested, for ancient Egypt. This chapter explores these tensions in the development of Egyptology from the decipherment of hieroglyphs to the present day. It is argued that the disciplinary orientation of Egyptology can be usefully considered in terms of its changing relationship to the world of objects, and in terms of its orientation to questions of translation, broadly conceived.

Author(s):  
Annette Imhausen

Approximately a dozen mathematical papyri have survived from ancient Egypt. Based on their script (but also their stage of the Egyptian language) they fall into two groups—hieratic and demotic texts. These papyri constitute our primary source material to learn about ancient Egyptian mathematics. Because of the procedural style that they were written in, it is assumed that they were used in teaching junior scribes the mathematical techniques they would need for their job; however, the procedural format may also have constituted the way of collecting mathematical knowledge at the time. It is only if this format is taken into account in the (modern) analysis of Egyptian mathematical texts that their sophistication becomes visible, and a deeper understanding of Egyptian mathematics beyond rudimentary similarities to modern equivalents can therefore be achieved.


2019 ◽  
Vol 139 ◽  
pp. 222-232
Author(s):  
Lilah Grace Canevaro

AbstractIn this article I review 11 books published since 2010 that bring the ‘material turn’ to classics. Some start from emic ancient perspectives on matter and materiality; others take their cue from current theoretical models such as those of the new materialisms. All offer new insights into our relationship with the material world and consider the material object as active within different paradigms. In reviewing these important volumes together, I question entrenched boundaries: from those between (sub-)disciplines to those between human and non-human agents. I explore the material turn not as an isolated phenomenon, but, first, as a cyclical ‘re’-turn and, second, as an integrated set of ideas incorporating (to name but a few strands) aesthetics, cognitive humanities, embodiment, affect and the senses. The books reviewed range from literary studies to archaeology to art history to material culture to heritage. Taken together, they set new directions for classics, and indeed for our thinking about our place in the world.


2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Causer ◽  
Melissa Terras

The Bentham Papers Transcription Initiative 2 (Transcribe Bentham for short) is an award-winning crowdsourced manuscript transcription initiative which engages students, researchers, and the general public with the thought and life of the philosopher and reformer, Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832), by making available digital images of his manuscripts for anyone, anywhere in the world, to transcribe. Since its launch in September 2010, over 2.6 million words have been transcribed by volunteers. This paper will examine Transcribe Bentham's contribution to humanities research and the burgeoning field of digital humanities. It will then discuss the potential for the project's volunteers to make significant new discoveries among the vast Bentham Papers collection, and examine several examples of interesting material transcribed by volunteers thus far. We demonstrate here that a crowd-sourced initiative such as Transcribe Bentham can open up activities that were traditionally viewed as academic endeavors to a wider audience interested in history, whilst uncovering new, important historical primary source material. In addition, we see this as a switch in focus for those involved in digital humanities, highlighting the possibilities in using online and social media technologies for user engagement and participation in cultural heritage.


Pneuma ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 394-410
Author(s):  
Awet Andemicael

What was truly distinctive about the black Gospel music style of the Sanctified Church was its extensive use of musical instruments previously associated with “the world.” Yet, this fact presents a theological conundrum. The very churches that were so enthusiastically “embracing” the Gospel style were, at the same time, ardently emphasizing strict moral living and the repudiation of all things carnal. In this article, I suggest lines of theological reasoning that may have informed early black Holiness and pentecostal Christians in their widespread liturgical use of the Gospel style. Drawing on primary source material from COGIC founding Bishop Charles Mason, I expand Lawrence Levine’s model of the relationship between early black Sanctified churches and the secular black musical world and argue that a more nuanced conception of the Christ-world relation than is generally assumed may have undergirded Sanctified development of early Gospel music.


Pigs are one of the most iconic but also paradoxical animals ever to have developed a relationship with humans. This relationship has been a long and varied one: from noble wild beast of the forest to mass produced farmyard animal; from a symbol of status and plenty to a widespread religious food taboo; from revered religious totem to a parodied symbol of filth and debauchery. Pigs and Humans brings together some of the key scholars whose research is highlighting the role wild and domestic pigs have played in human societies around the world over the last 10,000 years. The 22 contributors cover a broad and diverse range of temporal, geographical, and topical themes, grounded within the disciplines of archaeology, zoology, anthropology, and biology, as well as art history and history. They explore such areas as evolution and taxonomy, domestication and husbandry, ethnography, and ritual and art, and present some of the latest theories and methodological techniques. The volume as a whole is generously illustrated and will enhance our understanding of many of the issues regarding our complex and ever changing relationship with the pig.


Author(s):  
Gabriele Pieke

Art history has its own demands for recording visual representations. Objectivity and authenticity are the twin pillars of recording artistic data. As such, techniques relevant to epigraphic study, such as making line drawings, may not always be the best approach to an art historical study, which addresses, for example, questions about natural context and materiality of the artwork, the semantic, syntactic, and chronological relation between image and text, work procedures, work zones, and workshop traditions, and interactions with formal structures and beholders. Issues critical to collecting data for an art historical analysis include recording all relevant information without overcrowding the data set, creating neutral (i.e., not subjective) photographic images, collecting accurate color data, and, most critically, firsthand empirical study of the original artwork. A call for greater communication in Egyptology between epigraphy/palaeography and art history is reinforced by drawing attention to images as tools of communication and the close connection between the written word and figural art in ancient Egypt.


Emerging Markets are the primary source of growth for business in the 21st century. This makes an understanding of managing businesses in emerging markets a fundamental building block for competing in today's global economy. This book's approach is to identify key elements of the business systems and competition in emerging markets around the world, and then to look at competitive strategies of local and multinational companies going into and coming out of these countries. Specific focus is offered on a selection of countries/regions. These emphases should serve both researchers and managers interested in knowing more about managing firms in emerging markets in general and in specific countries in particular. The essays highlight the tension between local and global knowledge, that is, views of business that apply everywhere around the world versus views that are particular to emerging markets. The essays also explore the role of local and international firms operating in emerging markets within global value chains or production networks.


2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 41-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Joyce

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the 2016 elections for Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and to compare them with those that took place in 2012. It seeks to evaluate the background of the candidates who stood for office in 2016, the policies that they put forward, the results of the contests and the implications of the 2016 experience for future PCC elections. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based around several key themes – the profile of candidates who stood for election, preparations conducted prior to the contests taking place, the election campaign and issues raised during the contests, the results and the profile of elected candidates. The paper is based upon documentary research, making particular use of primary source material. Findings The research establishes that affiliation to a political party became the main route for successful candidates in 2016 and that local issues related to low-level criminality will dominate the future policing agenda. It establishes that although turnout was higher than in 2012, it remains low and that further consideration needs to be devoted to initiatives to address this for future PCC election contests. Research limitations/implications The research focusses on the 2016 elections and identifies a number of key issues that emerged during the campaign affecting the conduct of the contests which have a bearing on future PCC elections. It treats these elections as a bespoke topic and does not seek to place them within the broader context of the development of the office of PCC. Practical implications The research suggests that in order to boost voter participation in future PCC election contests, PCCs need to consider further means to advertise the importance of the role they perform and that the government should play a larger financial role in funding publicity for these elections and consider changing the method of election. Social implications The rationale for introducing PCCs was to empower the public in each police force area. However, issues that include the enhanced importance of political affiliation as a criteria for election in 2016 and the social unrepresentative nature of those who stood for election and those who secured election to this office in these contests coupled with shortcomings related to public awareness of both the role of PCCs and the timing of election contests threaten to undermine this objective. Originality/value The extensive use of primary source material ensures that the subject matter is original and its interpretation is informed by an academic perspective.


2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob Edmond

Abstract Literary studies has taken a global turn through such institutional frameworks as global romanticism, global modernism, global anglophone, global postcolonial, global settler studies, world literature, and comparative literature. Though promising an escape from parochialism, nationalism, and Eurocentrism, this turn often looks suspiciously like another version of Anglo-European imperialism. This essay argues that, rather than continue the expansionary line of recent decades, global literary studies must allow other perspectives to draw into question its concepts, practices, and theories, including those associated with the terms literature, discipline, and comparison. As a settler colonial (Pākehā) scholar in Aotearoa New Zealand, I attend particularly to Māori literary scholars from Apirana Ngata, Te Kapunga Matemoana (Koro) Dewes, and Hirini Melbourne to Alice Te Punga Somerville, Tina Makereti, and Arini Loader. Their work highlights the limitedness of global literary studies in its current disciplinary guise. Disciplines remain important when they bring recognition to something previously marginalized, as in the battle to have Māori literature recognized within Pākehā institutions. What institutionalized modes of global literary studies need, however, is not discipline but indiscipline: a recognition of the limits of dominant disciplinary objects, frameworks, and practices, and an openness to other ways of seeing the world.


This book is a ground-breaking study of the phenomenon of migration in and to England over the medieval millennium, between c. AD 500 and c. AD 1500. It reaches across traditional scholarly divides, both disciplinary and chronological, to investigate, for the first time, the different types of data and scholarly methods that reveal evidence of migration and mobility within the medieval kingdom of England. England offers the opportunity for studying migration and migrants over the longue durée, because it has been a recognisable political unit for over a millennium and because a wealth of source material has survived from these centuries. The data vary unevenly in quality and quantity across this period, but become considerably more powerful through multi-disciplinary approaches to data collection and interpretation. Fifteen subject specialists synthesise and extend recent research in a wide range of disciplines, including archaeology, art history, genetics, historical linguistics, history, literature and onomastics. They evaluate the capacity of different genres of evidence for addressing questions around migration and its effects on the identities of groups and individuals within medieval England, as well as methodological parameters and future research potential. The book therefore marks an important contribution to medieval studies, and to modern debates on migration and the free movement of people, arguing that migration in the modern world, and its reverberations, cannot be completely understood without taking a broad historical perspective on the topic.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document