NOTE: As I complete the syllabus for Winter 2014, here is the syllabus for the course as offered in Winter 2013.
Requirements, Assignments, Lecture topics, schedule and work load will be similar in Winter 2014, but not exactly the same.

Ancient Egypt: Religion and Culture, ACABS 261, 4 credit hours
Winter 2013, Lecture + discussion section

Note: syllabus will be updated as term goes on; exam and due dates will stay the same, as will readings, but lecture topics may change. Any changes will be noted on the course CTools website

Instructor: Prof. Terry Wilfong
Office: 4016 Thayer
Email (best means of contact): <twilfong@umich.edu>


Class description:

This course is an undergraduate introduction to the religion of ancient Egypt in its cultural context. Religion was central to life in ancient Egypt, and in this course students will study Egyptian religion through its intellectual and material culture. Students will explore the definitions of religion in ancient Egypt, as well as the Egyptian understandings of gods and goddesses, Egyptian cosmology and mythology, temples and their priesthoods, and the roles and uses of magic. A major component of this course will focus on the reading of the Egyptian "Book of the Dead" in translation and a study of its illustrations as an entry-point into understanding Egyptian afterlife beliefs and funerary practices.

Please note that this course is about ancient Egyptian religion in its cultural context from ancient Egyptian sources. Although ancient Egyptian religion figures prominently in other religious traditions and there have been modern revivals of Egyptian religion and magic, these are not what we will be covering in this course.


Class requirements:

* Attendance is mandatory, both for lecture and discussion sections. Grades will be based on material covered in the lectures and discussions as well as the readings, so failure to attend lectures and discussion and do the readings will have an adverse impact on a student's final grade.
* Assigned readings must be done before lecture according to schedule.
* Exams must be taken on time, papers and section assignments must be handed in by deadlines: no late exams or papers!
* Short Quiz (=5% of grade)
* Exam 1 (=25% of Grade): multiple choice and identifications from readings and lectures.
* Exam 2 (=25% of Grade): identifications, short answers and short essay based on class readings, lectures and discussion sections: NOT cumulative!
* Paper (=25% of Grade): a short (2,000-2,500 word) paper based on class readings, lectures and discussions about the Egyptian Book of the Dead.
* Section Work (=20% of Grade): attendance and participation in discussions, with short quizzes and/or writing assignments.


Reading List
Note: All books should be available at UM Bookstores as well as online. The following are required for purchase:
* Byron E. Shafer, ed., Religion in Ancient Egypt (1991) (=SHAFER in the syllabus)
* John Taylor, Death and the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt (2001) (=TAYLOR in the syllabus)
* The Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Book of Coming Forth by Day, Translated by R. O. Faulkner, edited by Ogden Goelet (1994) (=BOOK OF THE DEAD in the syllabus; note that ONLY this publication of the Egyptian Book of the Dead [ISBN 0-8118-0767-3 or ISBN 0-8118-6489-3] is acceptable for class use)

There will also be occasional brief online readings and/or brief handout readings, TBA


Schedule

1. January 10 (Thursday) INTRODUCTION TO COURSE/ORIENTATION
NO READINGS, NO SECTION MEETING ON THURS. JAN. 3

2. January 15 (Tuesday) INTRODUCTION TO ANCIENT EGYPT
NO READINGS

3. January 17 (Thursday) INTRODUCTION TO ANCIENT EGYPTIAN RELIGION: WHAT IS A GOD?
*NOTE: in-class definitions added to notes 1-20-13
Readings SHAFER 7-30

4. January 22 (Tuesday) BEGINNINGS: CREATIONS AND COSMOLOGIES
Readings SHAFER 88-122

5. January 24 (Thursday) ORGANIZATION OF THE GODS
Readings SHAFER 30-58

6. January 29 (Tuesday) **SHORT QUIZ AT BEGINNING OF CLASS
NATURE OF THE GODS; DIVINE PLACE
Readings SHAFER 58-73

7. January 31 (Thursday) DIVINE WISDOM, GODS IN THE WORLD; THE TEMPLE, THE KING
Readings SHAFER 74-87

8. February 5 (Tuesday): TEMPLES, KINGS, PRIESTS, DEATH
Readings SHAFER 123-146

9. February 7 (Thursday): PERSONAL RELIGION
Readings SHAFER 147-178

10. February 12 (Tuesday): EXCURSUS I: THE AMARNA PERIOD
Readings SHAFER 179-200

11. February 14 (Thursday):
EXAM REVIEW IN CLASS

12. February 19 (Tuesday): EXAM 1 IN CLASS

13. February 21 (Thursday): GODS & PEOPLE AFTER DEATH
Reading TAYLOR 7-45

14. February 26 (Tuesday): PREPARATION FOR THE DEAD
Readings TAYLOR 46-91

15. February 28 (Thursday): MUMMIES
Readings: TAYLOR 92-111

WINTER BREAK: NO CLASS

16. March 12 (Tuesday): Guest Lecture, Tom Landvatter
Topic TBA
Readings: TAYLOR 112-135

17. March 14 (Thursday): ACCESSORIES AND HOMES FOR THE DEAD
Readings:
TAYLOR 136-155

18. March 19 (Tuesday): RITUALS AND MAGIC FOR THE DEAD
Readings:
TAYLOR 156-213

19. March 21 (Thursday): COFFINS
Readings:
TAYLOR 214-243

20. March 26 (Tuesday): EXAM REVIEW
No readings for today

21. March 28 (Thursday): EXAM 2 IN CLASS

22. April 2 (Tuesday): ANCIENT EGYPTIAN BOOKS FOR THE DEAD
Readings: BOOK OF THE DEAD pages 11-18, 139-154

23. April 4 (Thursday): BOOK OF GOING FORTH BY DAY, PART 1
Readings: BOOK OF THE DEAD plates 1-10, pages 154-161
*PAPER ASSIGNMENT HANDED OUT

24. April 9 (Tuesday): BOOK OF GOING FORTH BY DAY, PART 2
Readings: BOOK OF THE DEAD plates 11-19, pages 161-165

25. April 11 (Thursday): BOOK OF GOING FORTH BY DAY, PART 3
Readings: BOOK OF THE DEAD plates 20-29, pages 165-167

26. April 16 (Tuesday): BOOK OF GOING FORTH BY DAY, PART 4
Readings: BOOK OF THE DEAD plates 29-37, pages 167-170

27. April 18 (Thursday): BOOK OF THE DEAD SUMMING-UP/In-class paper review

28. April 23 (Tuesday): SUMMING-UP + MUMMY MOVIES
*PAPERS DUE AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS: NO EXCEPTIONS!