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"For America, read Africa; for the United States, Egypt." - Paschal Beverly Randolph (1863) Egyptomania is a concept that emerged in the nineteenth century and describes the fascination with Ancient Egyptian Culture And History and its influence on Western cultures even today. This fascination came about as a result of Napoleon 's "Egyptian Campaign" (1798-1801) and, in particular, as a result of the extensive scientific study of Ancient Egypt ian remains and culture inspired by this campaign. In addition to its aesthetic impact on literature, art and architecture, it also played a role in the discussion about Race , Gender and National Identity . Egyptomania is of particular importance to US-American culture because of the way in which the example of ancient Egypt served to create a sense of independent Nation hood during the nineteenth centurycf. esp. Trafton 2004.. CULTURE Since the early nineteenth century, the fascination with (1802), Voyage dans la Basse et la Haute Egypt and Description De L'Egypte (1809) . Because of these publications, people became more and more interested in Egyptian culture and everything related to it. Ancient Egyptian images and representations were integrated into a wide variety of cultural sectors. They influenced the fine arts not just in the US but throughout the western world. Examples of this are the pyramid of glass and steel in front of the Louvre or Verdi 's famous Aida . But Egyptian images and symbols also served for more trivial purposes, such as dessert services, furniture, decoration, commercial kitsch or even advertising. There were parties and public events that had Egypt as a motto, where people wore special costumes. In general, people were fascinated by everything that had the label Egypt attached to it. And even today, this kind of fascination for Egypt and all things Egyptian still exists today. Many different exhibitions about Egyptian culture in museums all over the world demonstrate people's continued interest in it. in Las Vegas is a contemporary example for the enduring impact of Egyptian imagery.]] Fascinated by Egyptian culture, American literature, visual art and architecture absorbed what was becoming general knowledge about ancient Egyptian culture, making use of this knowledge in the contemporary debate about national identity, race, and slavery. Certain characteristic elements of Egyptian culture became particularly symbolically charged. The , Hieroglyphic Writing and deciphering, and the pyramid as maze and tomb are other examples of how ancient Egypt has been productive in the West, and specifically in the United States since the nineteenth century. Well-known literary works that make use of these symbolic references to Egypt include "Some Words With a Mummy" by E. A. Poe , "Lost In A Pyramid Or The Mummy’s curse" by Louisa May Alcott or '' The Marble Faun '' by Nathaniel Hawthorne . The impact of ancient Egyptian culture in architecture is called the Egyptian Revival , an important expression of Neoclassicism in the United States. Well-known Egyptian images, forms and symbols were integrated in the contemporary style. This influence can best be seen in the architecture of cemeteries and prisons. Other examples of this influence are the Gold Pyramid House in Illinois or the famous Obelisk ( Washington Monument ) in Washington DC. Movies such as The Mummy and The Return Of The Mummy demonstrate that ancient Egypt and the discovery of its secrets is still a powerful point of reference for contemporary western cultures. Important scholarly texts about this phenomenon in American culture include Scott Trafton’s ''Egypt Land'' (2004) and M. J. Schueller’s ''U.S. Orientalism'' (1998). It is important to point out that this impact of ancient Egyptian culture and its characteristic features is a result of cultural projection, and its re-creations and interpretations of Egypt say more about the anxieties and desires of western cultures engaged in a colonialism that benefited them economically and symbolically than about the ancient culture itself. As such, Egyptomania is an integral part of a process of cultural appropriation that Edward Said has called " Orientalism " (in his Seminal Study Under The Same Title ). SCIENCE In the early nineteenth century natural science based on by Jean-François Champollion in 1824 . Yet much of the work in and on Egypt was not performed by full time scholars but by rich enthusiasts whose training and expertise did not quite match their interest. Major amounts of knowledge have been destroyed by poorly documented excavations and poorly performed dissections. The popularity of Egyptology in educated circles led to strange phenomena, as for instance when amateur Egyptologists would organize "Mummy Parties", social gatherings with a pseudo scientific outlook, which consisted mainly of "unwrapping" a mummy purchased for the purpose by the host. Another rather strange chapter of nineteenth century science that is relevant with regard to Egyptomania is was especially important with regard of the question, whether Egyptians were black of white, a debate lead in light of the justification of slavery (see below). The key figure for this period seems to be Samuel George Morton who founded the American School of ethnology. He put forward the theory of Polygenesis claiming that there is not one but several human races who are in a hierarchical order with whites at the top and blacks at the bottom end of the scale. Although science today disapproves of Morton's findings it still revalidated his professional status, because Morton's American School was to a large degree responsible for the development of the current professional status of the sciences and the renunciation of puritan ideas of monogenesis and the Christian, clerical worldview which was common at the time. RACE AND IDENTITY The development of identity, personal as well as national identity, is a very complex process involving many factors. Among these, race and ethnicity undeniably play an important part. It is vital to differentiate between these two concepts. Race on the one hand refers to biological lineage and origin and is determined according to bodily features like skin color. Apart from that race can be regarded is a binary concept expressing a harsh contrast, such as black and white or 0 and 1. Ethnicity in contrast to this draws on a multitude of factors to determine identity, describing characteristics which emphasize cultural and social distinctions, for example, language and tradition. Historically, the attempt to establish a racial hierarchy, as undertaken by the American School of ethnology evoked an understanding of whiteness as the natural, national identity. Among the large variety of ethnic groups that formed the population of the US the common denominator was being non-black, being able to define oneself utilizing a binaristic ''Other''. The Egyptian influence on the American identity is still visible today. Historically this influence is rooted in the nineteenth century, but even today strong evidence for its relevance in forming and defining the national identity of the US can still be found. According to Richard White (historian) , Egypt is not easily placed within Africa or Asia, or within the East or the West. Therefore, it seems as if Egypt is “everybody’s past”. Egypt’s outstanding position in American culture caused a wide Discourse Dealing With The "racial" Status Of Egyptians . Historians have put forward three main hypotheses which clearly contradict each other. Scientists, historians and anatomists argue whether the Egyptians were white, black or hybrid (mixture of both). The argument draws on aspects such as wall paintings or the physique of mummies. Americans of African origin have stated that the Egyptians were of black origin. Their hypothesis made it possible to provide an ancient and noble lineage which gave them “a sense of dignity and pride of race”. Slavery and its effects were a trigger for the lack of worthiness of black identity (Compare Frederick Douglass ' writings). Then again there were African American writers such as W.E.B. DuBois who shaped the concept of race and identity in yet another way by writing about the " Double Consciousness " of Africans in the " Diaspora ", meaning the descendants of the slaves in the U.S. at the turn of the century. This concept led to the twentieth century Black Nationalist Movements . Still, the question of race and identity is debated in various works of black as well as white authors today. As mentioned above, the respective racial affinity of Egyptian Pharaohs was used especially by nineteenth century scientists like Morton and his contemporaries to establish a racial hierarchy, which for example James Kirke Paulding used to justify the inhuman treatment of slaves and the denial of civil rights for any but white Americans "The government of the USA, its institutions and its privileges belong exclusively to the white men, for they were purchased not by the blood of negroes but by that of our fathers". SEE ALSO NOTES REFERENCES
EXTERNAL LINKS egyptomania.org , a website devoted to covering all aspects of "Egyptomania" from both a scholarly and a popular perspective. Includes Bibliographies. American Egyptomania , a scholarly website maintained at George Mason University, under the guidance of Scott Trafton, the author of ''Egypt Land'' (2004). Focuses on expressions of Egyptomania in the United States starting in the early nineteenth century and includes excerpts from original documents. |
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