São Paulo – The Postgraduate Program in Archaeology of the National Museum will host four days of debates on Egyptology in December on Rio de Janeiro. Egyptology is the study of Egyptian culture, from Pre-Dynasty times to recent history, with an emphasis on the era of the Pharaohs. The event should feature researchers in the field, with the goal of facilitating cooperation and publicizing knowledge of Ancient Egypt.
The event is called Semna (Portuguese acronym for National Museum Egyptology Week), in a reference to a fortress built by pharaoh Senusret I in the ancient Nubia, which is now Sudan. It will be held at the National Museum Library, in Rio’s Quinta da Boa Vista park, and will be open to both academicians and interested parties. Admittance is free, but there are limited slots.
The lectures will include Society and Economy in Ancient Egypt, by the professor Nely Feitora Arraes, of the La Salle University Centre (Unilasalle); Hierarchy and Social Mobility in Ancient Egypt, by Maria Thereza David João, a doctoral candidate from the University of São Paulo (USP); The Economic Implications of Egyptian Temples and the Constitution of Local Powers: A Study on Ancient Egypt, by Fábio Frizzo, a doctoral candidate from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFF).
The doctoral candidate Julián Alejo Sánchez, from the National Museum of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), will discuss the importance of theory in economic Egyptology; and the doctoral candidate Rennan de Souza Lemos, from the same institution, will address the study of Akhetaton through written sources and archaeology. Several other subjects relating to Egyptology will be discussed by specialists from various educational institutions from across Brazil.
At the event’s opening, a tribute will be paid to the Brazilian emperor Dom Pedro II, regarded by Egyptologists as their founding father, due to the interested he entertained in the Arab country and its ancient history. Antonio Brancaglion Junior, a landmark Egyptologist and curator of the National Museum’s Egyptian collection, will one of the speakers.
The National Museum is owned by the UFRJ and boasts an Egyptian collection renowned for its size and the unique character of some of the pieces. It functions as a museum and as a scientific institution, offering extension and postgraduate courses in areas such as archaeology, zoology, botany, anthropology, geology, grammar and language.
Service:
SEMNA – National Museum Egyptology Week
December 2nd to 5th, 2013
Auditório do Horto – National Museum – Quinta da Boa Vista – Rio de Janeiro
Information and registration: http://semna2013.wordpress.com/
Program: http://semna2013.wordpress.com/2013/10/12/programacao/
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
