Egyptology

The course aims to provide students with a general understanding of ancient Egypt, from the end of the fourth millennium BC to the Roman conquest of the country. It is an introduction to the Egyptological discipline in its various aspects, aimed at providing general elements and specific insights into the history, archaeology, culture, religion, language and literature of ancient Egypt (with notions of grammar and reading of texts in Egyptian hieroglyph). Issues related to the history of the discipline will also be discussed, making use of the documents preserved in the Egyptological Archives of the University of Milan. Each year we will also deal with a specific topic, in relation to the research activities of the teacher and the advances in Egyptological research in general. The educational objective of the course is to develop general knowledge related to all aspects of ancient Egyptian civilization, its transformations over the millennia and its influence on modern and contemporary culture.

At the end of the course the student must have acquired a basic knowledge of ancient Egyptian civilization in its development and its transformations, through the analysis of archaeological, iconographic and textual sources. He must also have developed critical skills in the interpretation of documents; ability to distinguish between preconceived ideas and results deriving from scientific research; awareness of the content and usefulness for the research of the Egyptological archives and the history of the discipline.