This course will cover the period ca. 4400-1070 BCE, from the formative period before the rise of the First Dynasty in Egypt, until the end of the New Kingdom. It provides an overview of central aspects of ancient Egyptian culture and society: the country's natural resources, Egyptian kingship, social structure, foreign relations, religion, myths, and magic, temples, writing, burial, and the afterlife. We will read investigate different aspects of daily life, such as the reasons why royal tomb builders were allowed to take days off, the beginning of mummification, and ancient Egyptian beer-making. During the period we will study, Egypt influenced its neighbours in many ways; this information is useful not only for the study of ancient Egypt itself but also for the archaeology and culture of the Levant, and especially ancient Canaan.

Apart from basic information about ancient Egypt, students will also read and discuss some key texts in translation, and analyze images from different periods. They will gain some basic ideas of what ancient Egyptian primary sources have to offer, how to approach them and what their limitations are, which will be useful to them in further studies of ancient Egypt and the ancient Levant. More broadly, the ability to approach and understand different cultural systems from one’s own is an important skill which is useful everywhere.

The presentation and discussions in class, and preparation for the exam, should help students synthesize material to answer broad-ranging questions, and to explain specific issues, and thus enhance the students’ ability to express themselves in writing.