Religion of the Pharaohs.

Catalog description

The past century has witnessed a fascination with all things ancient Egyptian. From the earliest version of the film, "The Mummy" in 1931 to the traveling art exhibit of the treasures of Tutankhamen's tomb (twice!) to the millennium party at the pyramids, the previous hundred years was marked by an obsession with ancient Egyptian religion and culture. This course examines the religious beliefs and practices of ancient Egyptians and the portrayal of ancient Egypt in popular culture. Topics include: Egyptian royal and social history; Egyptian language and literature; mythology and cosmology; death and the afterlife; temple rituals and architecture; pyramids, tombs and other burial architecture; the intersection of religion with ethnicity, gender, social class, and political power; colonialism and the modern "discovery" of ancient Egypt; and ancient Egypt in American popular culture. ( DVSY , GE1C )