Review of Egypt in its African Context

African Studies Review, 2005

2011

This volume forms the proceedings of the conference, Egypt in its African Context, which took place at The Manchester Museum, University of Manchester, UK, on the 3-4 October 2009. The conference took the form of one day of papers, a selection of which are presented in this volume, and one day of community panel discussions with the key speakers and a screening of the film Nubian Spirit: The African legacy of the Nile Valley (BlackNine Films), by the documentary film-maker Louis Buckley. The event was inspired by recent work with Black and other community audiences at the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, UCL, lead by Stephen Quirke, and at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, lead by Sally-Ann Ashton, both curators of Egyptology collections, addressing issues of prejudice and perceived Eurocentrism in the presentation and interpretation of Ancient Egypt in the museums in the UK. In addition, at the time of the conference, and, indeed, at the time of writing, The Manchester Museum was -and is -in the planning stages of a large-scale redevelopment of its Egyptology and Archaeology galleries, wherein the presentation of Egypt as an African culture will form an aspect of the interpretation.

2019

Resource guide to selected publications and online materials on Ancient Egypt, including some neighbours, from Prehistory through the Roman-Byzantine periods (aimed mainly at students & public, but useful to other researchers), 2021

ABSTRACT: Preface to the Guide: Focus and limitations: The compilation of this guide began in Spring 2007 as a series of check lists and book requests for the somewhat small collection of Egyptological and related works in M. H. Sterne library at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. During the development of several courses on Ancient Egypt, the Ancient Near East, and other areas spanning Prehistory through to the Roman period (and later), the collection grew, and continues to expand, and began to require a research paper guide for students enrolled in courses dealing with these geographic areas and time periods. The nature of the prime cliental, namely undergraduate to MA students in a North American setting, in conjunction with limited funding, has steered –of necessity– the building of both Sterne library’s collections and this guide towards mostly English-language sources, less expensive works, and more easily available and more recent publications. Overall aims: In order to maximize student and public research usage of the existing, albeit still limited, collections, I have since compiled and incorporated selected journal articles, book chapters, encyclopedia entries, and other book titles from Sterne Library’s physical holdings (i.e., non-electronic sources) into diverse categories of research topics/subjects. In addition, every effort has been made to add a full listing of electronic sources (including links) available to researchers of the geographic and temporal areas covered by this guide (i.e., mainly Prehistoric to Roman period Egypt). The guide also provides general assistance for more serious/professional scholars (i.e., a quick reference to key articles, chapters, and volumes), but remains a tool aimed at English-speaking undergraduate-MA students and the public, focusing on Sterne’s holdings (note: other emerging Egyptological libraries will also approximate Sterne’s holdings). Design and usage: An attempt has been made to obtain sources spanning all aspects of Ancient Egypt and related areas, which have in-turn influenced the subdivision of the guide into general works, time periods, and diverse subject areas. Some of these categories have grown sufficiently large to merit further subdivision, such as the New Kingdom section, which has a general list of sources, materials regarding individual rulers, and a few affiliated topics of interest (Exodus; Sea Peoples). I have attempted to place each source (i.e., books; book chapters; encyclopedia entries; journal articles) under each pertinent topic category that it covers, but naturally I may have missed some categories, while there may be other complementary and broader works that cover such topics elsewhere. A list of the pertinent call number ranges has been placed at the end of the guide (see table of contents) to assist in the merits of additional shelf-browsing. Beyond the guide: Naturally there are numerous significant Egyptological sources outside Sterne Library’s holdings (including electronic links: e.g., JSTOR) that might be retrieved via interlibrary loan. Sterne Library’s current Egyptological resources, however, are sufficient to introduce most areas of Egyptological research, and enable the researcher to consult the endnotes/footnotes and bibliographic data listed in recent books, articles, and encyclopedia entries to compile a list of further resources that may either be accessed via interlibrary loan, or possibly by visiting directly a neighbouring professional Egyptological library: e.g., the instructor (UAB); Atlanta (Emory University); Memphis (Memphis State University). The collections in other Birmingham and Alabama libraries have online links via Sterne Library’s website, and offer many duplicate and different Egyptological works that are often accessible to the public/students: e.g., Birmingham Public Library, Gorgas Library (UA). Naturally, I encourage students, faculty, and public researchers to see me for further assistance with this guide and their research topics. Gregory Mumford (UAB) Update: 15 Jan., 2021 PLEASE NOTE: This resource has received substantial updates in pertinent sections within the guide. Some additional sorting of various articles/entries is still required, but these articles can be found, unsorted, at the end of the guide (e.g., articles from KMT, JSSEA, EA, etc., listed chronologically and by issue). I anticipate another update in the following year ...

Perhaps you can judge a book by its cover, the quality of which certainly reflects the high standards of presentation maintained throughout The Archaeology of Egypt, an edition in the Cambridge World Archaeology series. The bold image of an elaborately decorated 'ceremonial' cosmetic palette certainly brings to mind the emergence of the dynastic state in