This dissertation is a study of the cultural contributions made by the scholars who accompanied Napoleon Bonaparte to Egypt in 1798. The purpose of the expedition was strategic and colonial, so Bonaparte recruited some of France's leading artists, scientists and engineers to accompany the French Army and study Egypt systematically. / In order to facilitate their research, the scholars formed a learned body, the Institute of Egypt. The research conducted by members of the Institute lay the groundwork for the development of Egyptology as a professional field of academic study. The culmination of the savants' work was the multivolume, illustrated Description de l'Egypte, which covered topics including natural history, geography, contemporary Egyptian society and Egyptian antiquities. The Description offered European scholars their first comparatively accurate view of Egypt, especially ancient Egypt. / The work of the French in Egypt also reflected various trends in eighteenth century thought. The savants believed that they were bringing progress and enlightenment to contemporary Egypt in the form of scientific and technical development. Moreover, the Napoleonic scholars, like some of the philosophes, believed that man could rationally, scientifically, and objectively study a society and then distill the information into a single, encyclopedic work. As colonialists, they regarded Egypt as fertile territory for scientific study. Since Europeans knew relatively little about ancient or contemporary Egypt, the French believed that they could claim credit for the rediscovery of a great civilization, and the glory of ancient Egypt would be reflected on Napoleonic France. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-10, Section: A, page: 3644. / Major Professor: Donald D. Horward. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1992.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_76771 |
| Contributors | Byrd, Melanie Sue., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 297 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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