Anxieties about Race in Egyptology and Egyptomania, 1890–1960

Donald Reid, Professor Emeritus, Department of History, Georgia State University; Affiliate Professor, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilization, University of Washington

Despite ideals of scientific and scholarly objectivity, both Egyptologists and non-specialists have often projected their own racial anxieties onto ancient Egypt. Recurrent attempts to prove that the ancient Egyptians were white or black, for example, reveal more about modern societies than about ancient Egypt. Donald Reid will discuss the history of how such debates have played out among Western and modern Egyptian scholars, artists, and writers, and how interpretations of ancient Egypt are intertwined with personal values.

Presented in collaboration with the Departments of Anthropology, Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, and the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology.

Recorded 4/6/17