Egyptology is a branch of Area Studies more than a scholarly “discipline.” Most of the material used in the subject is in a broad sense a product of archaeology – but that field too struggles, in different ways, with definitions as a discipline. Moreover, much in Egyptology, notably in the study of language, is remote from archaeology. These awkward relations have been discussed for decades. The aim of this lecture is to present some background to related questions and to offer examples and test cases that focus primarily around ancient Egyptian material culture and how it can be approached for studies of broader issues in ways that are informed by the social sciences.

John Baines is Professor of Egyptology emeritus and Fellow of The Queen’s College, University of Oxford. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and a Member of the American Philosophical Society. He has held visiting professorships and research appointments in Egypt, several countries in Europe, the United States, and China. He has interests in Egyptian archaeology, art, writing, biography, religion, and social issues, topics that he often addresses in collaborative projects and in comparative perspectives.