Ancient Egypt: Religion and Culture,
ACABS 261, 4 credit hours
Fall 2005, Mondays and Wednesdays 2:30-4:00 pm + discussion section
Note: online syllabus will be updated as term goes on and supercedes printed syllabus. Short link is at: http://www.umich.edu/~twilfong/261.html
Instructor: Prof. Terry Wilfong
Office: 2078 Frieze
Office hours: Tuesdays 10-1 (in Frieze 2078), and by appointment
Email (best means of contact): twilfong@umich.edu
Graduate Student Instructor: Mr. James Bos (jamesbos@umich.edu)
NOTE: Graded papers are available (for a limited time) in a box outside Prof. Wilfong's office door (Frieze 2078); all are in sealed envelopes with student's last name in upper left corner and in alphabetical order. Please take only your own paper and please leave the remaining papers in alphabetical order. After January 20th, contact Prof. Wilfong to retrieve your paper.
Go to: Reading List | Schedule | Links
Recent updates: class notes added on an ongoing basis, links to mummy articles for class 14, paper assignment added
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.
* Short Quiz (=2% 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 5-6 page paper based on class readings,
lectures and discussions about the Egyptian Book of the Dead.
* Section Work (=23% of Grade): attendance and participation in
discussions, with short quizzes and/or writing assignments.
Reading List
Note: All books should be
available at Shaman Drum Textbook Department (313
South State--upstairs). 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] is acceptable for class use)
There is also an optional book available at Shaman Drum; there
are NO readings from this book and it is NOT required for purchase,
but it is intended for those who are interested in the subject
and want to pursue things further:
* Richard Wilkinson, The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient
Egypt (2003)
There will also be occasional handouts of readings, especially in the last weeks of semester.
1. September 7 INTRODUCTION TO COURSE/ORIENTATION
NO READINGS, NO SECTION MEETING ON WEDS. SEPT. 7
2. September 12 INTRODUCTION TO ANCIENT
EGYPT
NO READINGS
3. September 14 INTRODUCTION TO ANCIENT
EGYPTIAN RELIGION: WHAT IS A GOD?
Readings SHAFER 7-30
4. September 19 BEGINNINGS: CREATIONS
AND COSMOLOGIES
Readings SHAFER 88-122
5. September 21 ORGANIZATION OF THE
GODS
Readings SHAFER 30-58
6. September 26 **SHORT QUIZ AT BEGINNING OF CLASS
(NO LECTURE: PROF. WILFONG ON JURY DUTY)
Readings SHAFER 58-73
7. September 28 NATURE OF THE GODS,
DIVINE PLACE AND WISDOM
Readings SHAFER 74-87
8. October 3 GODS IN THE WORLD; THE
TEMPLE, THE KING
Readings SHAFER 123-146
9. October 5 GODS OF THE DEAD, CATCH-UP
Readings SHAFER 147-178
10. October 10 EXCURSUS: THE AMARNA
PERIOD
Readings SHAFER 179-200
11. October 12 EXAM 1 IN CLASS
**October 17: NO CLASS, FALL RECESS
12. October 19 GODS & PEOPLE AFTER
DEATH
Reading TAYLOR 7-45
13. October 24 PREPARATION FOR THE DEAD
Readings TAYLOR 46-91
14. October 26 MORE MUMMIES, PROVIDING
FOR THE DEAD
Readings TAYLOR 92-111
Optional readings on Kelsey Museum mummy:
Mummy1
Mummy2
Mummy
in Childhood exhibition
15. October 31 "THE MUMMY" (no notes)
Readings TAYLOR 112-135
16. November 2 HOMES
FOR THE DEAD
Readings TAYLOR 136-55
17. November 7 RITUALS
FOR THE DEAD
Readings TAYLOR 156-213
19. November 14 EXAM 2 IN CLASS
20. November 16 ANCIENT EGYPTIAN BOOKS FOR THE DEAD
Readings: BOOK OF THE DEAD pages 11-18, 139-154
Paper Assignment handed out
21. November 21 BOOK OF GOING FORTH BY DAY: PART 1
Readings: BOOK OF THE DEAD plates 1-10, pp. 154-161
22. November 23 BOOK OF GOING FORTH BY DAY: PART 2
Readings: BOOK OF THE DEAD plates 11-19, pp. 161-165
23. November 28 BOOK OF GOING FORTH BY DAY: PART 3
Readings: BOOK OF THE DEAD plates 20-29, pp. 165-167
24. November 30 BOOK OF GOING FORTH BY DAY: PART 4
Readings: BOOK OF THE DEAD plates 29-37, pp. 167-170
25. December 5 BOOK OF THE DEAD SUMMING UP, PAPER REVIEW
26. December 7 In-class paper review
27. December 12 SUMMING-UP
***PAPERS DUE AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS: NO EXCEPTIONS!!