2025-53813-211 Ancient Cultures / Antieke Kulture - 211
2025-53813-311 Ancient Cultures / Antieke Kulture - 311
Culture, Power, and Society in Ancient Egypt
This module studies the cultural and social history of Ancient Egypt from the Predynastic period through the end of the New Kingdom. We will examine the values, ideologies and institutions that shaped and controlled ancient Egyptian society and culture, with particular emphasis on power: how it was created, wielded, maintained, and displayed.
Among the topics we will cover: formation of Egyptian identity; the evolution of kingship; the connection between tombs and social power; the construction of the great pyramid complexes and what they reveal about the nature of Egyptian society; social and cultural transformation during the Middle Kingdom; counter-culture as expressed in literature; Egypt’s military aggression and relationship with outsiders; temples and religion as instruments of power; Hatshepsut, Egypt’s most remarkable female king; Akhenaten’s religious revolution; and social change and decentralisation under the Ramessides.
We will explore these topics through an examination of monuments, texts, material culture and iconography, along the way critically considering some of the theories and frameworks that Egyptologists have put forward for understanding this rich and complex society, with an emphasis on recent discoveries and insights.
- Facilitator: ELMERIE De Wet
- Facilitator: Jessica Lynn Nager Nitschke
- Facilitator: Renate Marian Van Dijk-Coombes