Consuming Ancient Egypt
Published on 9. September 2003
Book
Paperback/Softback
256 pages
978-1-84472-003-3 (ISBN)
Description
The discipline of Egyptology has been criticised for being too insular,with little awareness of the development of archaeologies elsewhere. It has remained theoretically underdeveloped. For example the role of Ancient Egypt within Africa has rarely been considered jointly by Egyptologists and Africanists. Egypt's own view of itself has been neglected; views of it in the ancient past, in more recent times and today have remained underexposed.
Encounters with Ancient Egypt is a series of eight books which addresses these issues. The books interrelate, inform and illuminate one another and will appeal to a wide market including academics, students and the general public interested in Archaeology, Egyptology, Anthropology, Architecture, Design and History.
Consuming Ancient Egypt examines the influence of Ancient Egypt on the everyday lives of people, of all ages, throughout the world. It looks at the Egypt which the tourist sees, Egypt in film and Egypt as the inspiration for opera. It asks why so many books are published each year on Egyptological subjects at all levels, from the austerely academic to the riotous celebrations of Egypt as a land of mystery, enchantment and fantasy.
It then considers the ways in which Ancient Egypt interacts with the living world, in architecture, museum-going, the acquisition of souvenirs and reproductions, design, and the perpetual appeal of the mummy. The significance of Egypt as an adjunct to (and frequently the subject of) marketing in the consumer society is examined. It reveals much about Egypt's immemorial appeal and the psychology of those who succumb to its mag
Encounters with Ancient Egypt is a series of eight books which addresses these issues. The books interrelate, inform and illuminate one another and will appeal to a wide market including academics, students and the general public interested in Archaeology, Egyptology, Anthropology, Architecture, Design and History.
Consuming Ancient Egypt examines the influence of Ancient Egypt on the everyday lives of people, of all ages, throughout the world. It looks at the Egypt which the tourist sees, Egypt in film and Egypt as the inspiration for opera. It asks why so many books are published each year on Egyptological subjects at all levels, from the austerely academic to the riotous celebrations of Egypt as a land of mystery, enchantment and fantasy.
It then considers the ways in which Ancient Egypt interacts with the living world, in architecture, museum-going, the acquisition of souvenirs and reproductions, design, and the perpetual appeal of the mummy. The significance of Egypt as an adjunct to (and frequently the subject of) marketing in the consumer society is examined. It reveals much about Egypt's immemorial appeal and the psychology of those who succumb to its mag
Reviews / Votes
'the series is well organized,informative and comprehensive. Through careful analysis of a multiplicity of sources at hand, the authors, who come from a great variety of disciplines, have presented us with a series that is at once substantial as well as engaging and innovative. An extraordinary work of synthesis, the series promises to endure as an important contribution to the study of Ancient Egypt.' Professor Ronald J Leprohon, Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilisation, University of Toronto. 'The final group comprises two books. Consuming Ancient Egypt and Impotep Today: Egyptianizing Architecture. The first is a departure from traditional Egyptology territory but a welcome one. Here we find papers dealing with "Mummymania" for the masses - is Egyptology cursed by the mummy's curse?" (by Carter Lupton). Similarly, El Daly asks "what do tourists learn of Egypt?" giving insight into the "tourist experience" - which is not, perhaps, the one that most Egyptologists would like to take away from the country.' Times Higher Educational Supplement, 17 December 2004More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-84472-003-3 (9781844720033)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Sally MacDonald is Manager of the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, Institute of Archaeology, UCL and a Lecturer on its Museum Studies course. Michael Rice has worked extensively in the Middle East, particularly in the Arabian peninsular states, to several of which he has acted as an Adviser. He has been responsible for the creation, design and installation of museums in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Content
Introduction: Tea with a Mummy: the consumer's view of Egypt's immemorial appeal; Mummymania for the Masses: is Egyptology cursed by the mummy's curse?; How to Stage Aida?; Vicent Lle's Operetta,La Cort de Faran; Egypt in Hollywood: pharaohs of the fifties; Lost in Time and Space: Ancient Egypt in museums; Acquisitions at the British Museum; Selling Egypt: encounters at Khan el-Khalili; Egypt's Past Regenerated by its Own People; What do Tourists Learn of Egypt?; 'Wonderful Things': publishing Egypt in word and image; Hijacked Images: Ancient Egypt in French commercial advertising; Ancient Egypt on the Small Screen: from fact to faction in the UK; Alternative Egypts.