Reading books about Egyptology does not make you an Egyptologist, nor does writing a book on some topic related to ancient Egypt. An Egyptologist is someone who has an extensive education and broad knowledge and experience in the field, from the study of artefacts to the understanding of chronology, both relative and absolute. Perhaps most importantly, real Egyptologists participate in a scholarly community, exchanging ideas and information as colleagues rather than grabbing news from the television and newspaper headlines, and forming opinions from information published in popular sources. Newspapers and television shows are for the general public, and the information in them is often badly oversimplified. Professional Egyptologists consult scientific publications, or at least confer with their colleagues, before jumping to conclusions on any matter related to the discipline of Egyptology.
Amateur Egyptologists, on the other hand, often speak and write without thinking.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Hawass on amateur Egyptologists
Al Ahram Weekly (Zahi Hawass)
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9 comments:
An article from Dr. Zahi Hawass about amateur Egyptologists and though much of what the fine doctor says is true he also points to his discovery of the mummy of Hatshepsut and points out that discovery channel made mistakes in its presentation of his discovery.
Dr. Hawass however still has never had that discovery properly verified by an independent team, there is some doubt as the tooth in question should have three roots not two and the folks at discovery did not put a nineteenth dynasty mummy of unknown woman "D" into that show and represent it as an eighteenth dynasty mummy of unknown woman "B".
Dr. Hawass is the Captain on this ship and ultimately must accept these mistakes as his own and not properly verifying his discoveries is not professional but Dr. Hawass is right when he says we need to treat each other with respect.
http://tim-theegyptians.blogspot.com/
I remember when I liked Dr. Hawass. Now, he seems to focus his life on douche baggery.
What makes a person an Egyptologist isn't a degree. Simply studying it (as Egyptology is the study of Egypt) make on an Egyptologist.
~Aaron
Studying about ancient Egypt, reading about it, does not make one an Egyptologist. It makes one an amateur- one who studies for the love of his subject matter. Or in some cases, a diletante. But not an Egyptologist, who undergoes an academic process more stringent than most people are able or willing to pay for.
Some amateurs are content with coffee table books and newspaper clippings; others read scholarly journals and MA theses and PhD dissertations.
But for all my reading and study, I'm still an amateur. I can't afford professional training, and it would probably be a waste as it's not a viable career choice in this economy.
I would suggest that a professional in any field is someone who is a) qualified by training or experience and b) employed by someone to do that job. I worked for many years in website operations management. When I started out I landed the job by accident and was an amateur. Eventually, over time, I became a professional. I still had no qualifications but I had loads of experience which I could sell.
There is also another level of professional - someone with no experience in archaeology, for example, but with lots of experience in architecture, zoology, botany, engineering etc. Archaeology requires so much in the way of multi-disciplinary input that lots of professions can contribute to it.
At the same time, I think that many amateurs have a huge amount to contribute. I know lots of amateurs in archaeology and many other fields who are making excellent contributions. There are, of course, lots making very bad contributions as well. But those of us who have ever worked in a specialized field will know that there are lots of experienced, qualified and completely hopeless professionals out there too!
I think that the problem with some of the statements that Hawass makes is that he often fails to make a distinction between those who have something useful to contribute and those who don't, professional or not.
In the case of this specific article I actually think that he makes two good points. One is that when someone publishes a story in the media without all the facts it can do so much harm. The other is that when a story that might be perfectly valid appeals to the imagination of the media it is sometimes the case when there are a number of different interpretations on the same story. Enthusiasm with a topic can lead to all sorts of mistakes. Sifting through them all can be a real headache and in the end one comes to rely on a few key news sites and to simply reject others.
I think that the web is a great place to see both the strengths and weaknesses of amateur and media contributions. It's a matter of having just enough knowledge to know what is worth reading and what isn't.
An interesting topic. You rarely get the same sort of problem in UK archaeology because amateurs have long been employed to support professional archaeologists so the dividing line is much less clear.
Kat and Andie - you both defined professional egyptologists. There are different levels of Egyptologist - amature and professional - and one does not make the other any more or less a studier of Egyptology. The professional guys just happen to do it for a living and have had more opportunity for conjecture with others in their field thus expanding their understanding beyond that of the amature.
However, Hawass for the last couple years has devalued the "amature Egyptologist" as he does in this article. This is where the douche baggery comes in. That said, I do agree to a point with him. If all the information one gets comes from "popular sources" (Discovery Channel and the BBC being the worst offenders), then they are highly unenlightened on the subject. But to group all who don't have a piece of paper (because that is all it is) stating that they understand the topic in the same lump is pushing it. I don't have said piece of paper, but I have enjoyed many "scholarly" conversations with people who do. Most of these people have degrees in near east studies with personal experience working in Egypt. I learned a lot from them, but I certainly held my own.
In fact, in College, I actually taught my world history class' Egypt module because the textbook was so horribly off that I had to call attention to it. The professor was so impressed, she had me teach and she sat in on the lesson. To give you an idea of how bad the textbook was, they called the seated statue of Rahotep an image of Khufu. There were plenty of other problems, but that sticks in my mind the most.
~Aaron
Hi Andie
Most of What the good Doctor says is true but just because the professional holds the right criteria does not mean they are acting professional as I have pointed out in my previous comment.
Dr. Hawass passes blame off on a TV crew who for all I know have little to no interest in mummies or Egyptology but are rather doing the job they are paid to do. These mistakes belong to Dr. Hawass as the head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities and should upgrade his own level of professionalism.
If someone is putting out misleading articles (including Dr. Hawass) than it is more of a reason for everyone to take what we read and see in the popular media with a grain of salt.
As for Dr. Hawass he needs to not forget millions of amateur Egyptologists visit Egypt every year and many of those people have enough intelligence to interpret what they are viewing and can offer views worth thinking about!
http://tim-theegyptians.blogspot.com/
Kat - I would also like to add that I agree with your reasons not to take up the profession. It hasn't been economically feasible since the 19th century. I looked into it once as well. While Egyptology is my passion, I just can't abide the paychecks.
Anyway, I read my last comment and I think it came across as a little defensive. I didn't mean it that way. If the tone seemed abrupt, I apologize.
~Aaron
Hi Aaron,
Not a problem!
Sadly, I realize my own limitations- I'll never be a professional Egyptologist. I'll probably never get to visit Egypt either. But those negatives don't stop me from reading and studying and interacting with others, both amateur and professional, on the web.
Yes, Hawass is frequently pompous. But so are many of the most vocal diletantes. (I seperate diletante from amateur- an amateur loves the subject he's studying; a diletante may love the subject but doesn't employ critical thought to anything he's read, and gives all sources eqaul credibility.)
I don't think I will ever make it to Egypt either. I had an opportunity once, but dodn't go since I wouldn't be able to see any of the monuments - my friend's father worked for Bechtel in Heliopolis. I was invited to spend a few months with him, but all he wanted to do was play guitar (we were in a band together) and write music. That would have been more painful than not going at all.
Anyway, travel from the States to Egypt is ridiculously expensive.
~Aaron
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