São Paulo – Collective Lente Cultural is offering the course Napoleon in Egypt and the Rosetta Stone in São Paulo, comprising three classes to be taught on August 5, 12 and 19, from 7:30 pm to 10 pm at Espaço Lente Cultural by professor and historian Plinio Freire Gomes.
The first two lessons will cover Napoleon, and the third one will focus on the Rosetta Stone. “Upon conquering the land of the pharaohs, Napoleon mobilized fantasies of power and glory that had immense historical repercussions. On the one hand, the messianic aura of the young general would forever change the direction of revolutionary France. On the other, the adventure paved the way for a colonialist practice whose effects are still felt across Africa and the Middle East. Archaeological expeditions to Egypt culminated in Champollion’s discovery of the famed Rosetta Stone, which enabled Egyptian hieroglyphs to be cracked,” Gomes wrote.
However, according to Gomes, the consequences of the episode far exceed Napoleon’s story. “Ancient Egypt captivated European imaginations like never before, feeding into the voracity of collectors and scholars. That’s when the hieroglyphs were deciphered and museums were flooded with mummies, sarcophaguses and papyruses. Eastern themes became a staple in paintings, rearranging (in a negative way) the image of the Islamic East,” he told ANBA via email.
The entire course costs BRL 255, or BRL 95 per lesson. Additional information is available from the Lente Cultural website. Seats are limited.
Plínio Freire Gomes holds a master’s in History from the University of São Paulo. A former resident of Europe and the Middle East, he has taught at MASP, MAM, Casa do Saber, Centro Universitário Maria Antonia and the Institute of Arab Culture. He is the coordinator of an art studies group at the MASP Library, and a founding member of Martins Fontes bookstore’s Lente Cultural collective. He teaches conferences and courses in Art History, focusing on the Hellenistic, Roman and Renaissance periods, but his primary field of work is Islamic culture.
Quick facts
Course – Napoleon in Egypt and the Rosetta Stone
August 5, 12 and 19
Mondays, 7:30 pm-10 pm
Espaço Lente Cultural
Avenida Brigadeiro Faria Lima 1690, 4ª andar, conj. 41
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Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
