Vanessa Davies Talks About Egyptology And How It Works
Have you ever asked such a question as: “what really is Egyptology and why such a discipline should exist outside of African studies?”. In this episode of Obehi Podcast, we are going to be asking those questions to an Egyptologist and she is going to walk us through what Egyptologists do and how they operate.
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I must point out that Vanessa Davies is a fine human being who was very kind in responding to my questions during this 69 minutes interview.
Yes, we are not going to ignore the fact that many Europeans and western scholars who claim to be experts on African history have only ended up dehumanizing the African people through their academic works.
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On many occasions, they have denied the African people a place in their own history while fabricating their (often false) narration of African history. This too, we will ask.
Some Key Points In This Episode
- Who are Egyptologists and how do they work?
- Why is there the necessity to debate whether Egypt is Africa or not?
- What are Egyptologists, trying to understand in ancient Egyptian history?
The Full Interview With Vanessa Davies
About The Guest: Vanessa Davies
Vanessa Davies is an Egyptologist whose current research focuses on the early 20th century when Egyptology was just beginning to be taught in universities in the US.
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“I am writing a book on conversations between white Egyptologists who held university positions in the US and Europe and scholars of African descent in the US so that the voices of black scholars will become integrated into Egyptology’s disciplinary history.”
In the full interview, you will hear me refer to the above. And that was against the background of my feeling: “How did non-Africans become experts on African history to the point of writing out the African people from their own history?” It’s just a feeling.
Vanessa’s publications include the following:
- The Phoebe A. Hearst Expedition to Naga ed-Deir, Cemeteries N 2000 and N 2500. Harvard Egyptological Series. Brill. (editor and author)
- “There needs to be a marriage between Egyptology and Africana studies.” Kemet Expert blog. http://kemetexpert.com/tag/history-of-egyptology/
- The Oxford Handbook of Egyptian Epigraphy and Palaeography. Oxford University Press. (co-editor and author)
- “W. E. B. Du Bois, a new voice in Egyptology’s disciplinary history” / “W. E. B. Du Bois, une nouvelle voix dans l’histoire de l’égyptologie.” ANKH – Revue d’Égyptologie et des civilisations Africaines.
- Peace in Ancient Egypt. Harvard Egyptological Series. Brill.
- “Complications in the stylistic analysis of Egyptian art: A look at Medinet Habu.” In (Re)productive Traditions in Ancient Egypt. AegLeo 10. Presses Universitaires de Liège.
- “Observations on antiquities in later contexts.” In A Cosmopolitan City: Muslims, Christians, and Jews in Old Cairo. OIP 38. The University of Chicago.
- “The treatment of foreigners in Seti’s battle reliefs.” Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 98.
- “Hatshepsut’s use of Tuthmosis III in her program of legitimation.” Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 41.
You can contact Vanessa Davies on her LinkedIn page
Learn More About The Podcast
Obehi Podcast brings you leaders and experts from different industries to share their experiences, relating to Africa and the African diaspora. Listen to Obehi Podcast across different platforms: Spotify, Apple Podcast, YouTube, and much more.
Download the first chapter of The Storytelling Series: Beginners’ Guide for Small Businesses & Content Creators by Obehi Ewanfoh.
