Undergraduate Course: Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs II: Texts and Contexts (ARCA10101)
Course Outline
| School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course offers students an opportunity to further enhance their knowledge of the Middle Egyptian language, and to read in original a wide range of ancient Egyptian sources including literary works, and administrative and religious texts. |
| Course description |
The course follows on from ARCA10091 Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs: The Basics and Beyond, and its aim is to solidify the students' knowledge of Middle Egyptian grammar and to further develop their ability to read and translate ancient Egyptian texts independently. We will read sections from famous Middle Egyptian literary and funerary compositions, such as the Tale Sinuhe or the Coffin Texts. A further emphasis will be given to texts that shed light on the everyday life of Egyptian households and settlements, such as administrative documents and letters. By the end of the course, students will have a thorough knowledge of Egyptian grammar as well as a good understanding of the literary culture of the Middle Kingdom.
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should have at least 3 Archaeology courses at Grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses.
Any visiting students must demonstrate that they have taken a previous course/lessons in Egyptian language.
** as numbers are limited, visiting students should contact the Visiting Student Office directly for admission to this course ** |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2024/25, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
174 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Coursework:
Translation exercise with commentary notes (40%)
Translation exercise with commentary notes and a 1000 word essay to contextualise the text (60%) |
| Feedback |
Students will receive feedback on their coursework, and will have the opportunity to discuss that feedback further with the Course Organiser during their published office hours for this course or by appointment. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Show a good knowledge of the Middle Egyptian grammar.
- Critically analyse translations in secondary sources in order to reflect on their own translation skills and improve them.
- Show a deep familiarity with various literary genres of the Middle Kingdom as well as with recent theoretical approaches while interpreting ancient Egyptian literary texts.
- Identify and translate formulaic expressions used in administrative texts and letters.
- Develop and sustain scholarly arguments in oral and written form, by formulating appropriate questions and utilising relevant evidence.
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Reading List
Allen, James P. 2002. The Heqanakht papyri. Publications of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Egyptian Expedition 27. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Allen, James P. 2015. Middle Egyptian literature: eight literary works of the Middle Kingdom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bickel, Susanne and Lucía Díaz-Iglesias (eds) 2017. Studies in ancient Egyptian funerary literature. Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 257. Leuven: Peeters.
Bussmann, Richard 2017. Complete Middle Egyptian: a new method for understanding hieroglyphs. Reading texts in context.
Collier, Mark and Bill Manley 2007 (2nd, revised edition). How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs. London: British Museum Press.
Collier, Mark and Stephen Quirke 2002. The UCL Lahun papyri: letters. BAR International Series 1083. Oxford: Archaeopress.
Collier, Mark and Stephen Quirke 2004. The UCL Lahun papyri: religious, literary, legal, mathematical and medical. With a chapter by Annette Imhausen and Jim Ritter. BAR International Series 1209. Oxford: Archaeopress.
Lichtheim, Miriam 2019. Ancient Egyptian literature. Oakland, CA: University of California Press.
Nassar, Mohamed A. 2019. Writing practices in El-Lahun papyri during the Middle Kingdom. Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 55, 96-116.
Parkinson, R. B. 2009. Reading ancient Egyptian poetry: among other histories. Chichester; Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
Simpson, William Kelly (ed.) 2003. The literature of ancient Egypt: an anthology of stories, instructions, stelae, autobiographies, and poetry, third ed. New Haven; London: Yale University Press. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Ability to read and translate ancient Egyptian texts.
Ability to critically engage with existing translation.
Ability to use Middle Egyptian dictionaries and online text databases.
Mastering bibliographical, library and IT-based online research skills.
Ability to question cultural assumptions.
Ability to critique texts by scholars in light of the time and social circumstances of their writing. |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Zsuzsanna Vegh
Tel: (0131 6)50 4620
Email: zvegh@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | |
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